J,T7  m 


.1 


A  Monumental  Work  on  an  Important  and  Interesting  Subject. 


TNB 


TABERNACLE  of  ISRAEL 


IN  THE  DESER  T  t 


(5J< 


By  JAMES    STRONG,    S.T.D.,    LL.D. 


iiiiiii!iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii«iiii,iiiii,riiiiiiiiiii,i,iiiiiiiiiiiii,iiiiiii,ii^i,i,iiiiiii,|ii,ri,i,i,i,i,i,iii,,,,,iiii,i,,,,g,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,^  ,  ,  ,  ,  i.|.in.|iiii  I  1 1  in.M 


The  Tabernacle  of  Israel 

IN  THE  DESERT. 


This  is  an  entirely  original  treatise  on  a  theme  that  has  hitherto 
baffled  the  skill  of  every  interpreter.  At  last,  it  is  believed,  all  its 
problems  have  been  satisfactorily  solved,  and  the  whole  matter  is  clearly 
expounded.  This  monograph  is  destined  to  be  the  standard  henceforth, 
with  all  candid  inquirers,  on  the  topic  which  it  discusses.  The  entire 
production  consists  of  two  closely  related  parts. 

I.  There  are  six  magnificent  colored  Lithographs,  each  30  by  42 
inches  in  size,  showing  everything  plainly  across  an  ordinary  lecture- 
room.  A  glance  at  these  graphic  plates  will  convey  a  more  just  and 
life-like  idea  of  the  Tabernacle,  with  its  appointments  and  surroundings, 
as  they  actually  were,  than  any  other  representation  extant.  They  are 
accurately  and  artistically  drawn,  and  exhibit  respectively : 

1.  A  ground-plan  of  the  Tabernacle  and  its  court,  with  a  bird's-eye  sketch  of 
the  Desert  and  the  route  of  the  Israelites  ;  also  an  elevation  of  the  eastern 
entrance. 

2.  A  landscape  view  of  the  Tabernacle,  as  pitched  before  Mount  Sinai. 

3.  A  landscape  scene  of  the  erection  of  the  Tabernacle  at  a  stopping-place 
in  the  Desert. 

4.  Front  views  of  the  exterior  of  the  Sanctuary,  of  the  interior  of  the  Holy 
Place,  and  of  the  interior  of  the  Most  Holy  Place,  with  one  of  the  wall  curtains 
extended. 

5.  The  furniture  of  the  Tabernacle,  all  on  a  uniform  scale. 

6.  The  vestments  of  the  Tabernacle : — Levite,  priest  and  high-priest  in 
official  costume,  with  details  of  the  last. 


GIFT 
Fa  ^.c'  . 


II.  There  is,  accompanying  these  pictures,  a  neat  volume  of  letter- 
press, with  appropriate  wood-cuts,  explaining  and  corroborating  the 
details  of  the  lithographs,  and  constituting  a  complete  exposition  of  the 
whole  subject.  This  is  divided  into  chapters,  treating  respectively  the 
following  branches  of  the  subject : 

1.  An  mtroduction  to  the  Tabernacle,  setting  forth  the  occasion,  nnethod,  and 
purpose  of  the  book. 

2.  The  authorities  on  the  Tabernacle,  giving  an  account  of  the  literature  and 
leading  works  on  the  subject,  with  the  original  sources  of  information. 

3.  The  history  o{  \.\\&  Tabernacle,  and  of  the  articles  contained  in  it,  from  the 
time  of  Moses  to  the  Babylonian  Captivity. 

4.  The  structure  of  the  Tabernacle,  elucidating  and  vindicating  the  fabric 
and  mode  of  combination  in  minute  detail,  so  that  it  could  be  perfectly  recon- 
structed from  these  specifications.  This  comprises  the  larger  part  of  the  volume, 
which  is  not  bulky  in  all  ;  and  the  particulars  are  given  with  a  thoroughness  and 
exactitude  not  heretofore  attempted.  Everything  is  proved,  on  the  plan  pro- 
posed, to  come  out  with  perfect  exactness  and  propriety ;  and  the  harmony, 
compactness,  beauty  and  stability  of  the  edifice,  as  well  as  its  convenience  for 
transportation,  are  a  full  demonstration  of  the  correctness  of  the  details.  The 
key  of  the  puzzle  has  evidently  been  discovered.  The  Scriptural  description  is 
shown  to  be  true  and  definite  to  the  last  particular,  and  all  concurrent  statements 
of  other  parts  of  the  Bible  are  found  to  be  consistent.  The  whole  is  given  in 
language  free  from  technical  scholarship,  and  intelligible  to  ordinary  readers,  yet 
embracing  the  results  of  the  best  modern  philology  and  archaeology.  The  author 
has  extraordinary  advantages  in  this  line,  and  has  made  the  subject  a  study  for  a 
life-time  of  professional  pursuits  in  this  direction.  Oriental  customs  are  intro- 
duced, as  throwing  a  flood  of  light  on  many  points  inscrutable  to  the  older 
explorers  in  this  field.  Among  the  most  important  discoveries  of  the  author 
under  this  head  may  be  mentioned  the  form  and  adjustment  of  the  "  corner- 
boards,"  a  failure  in  which  has  led  all  previous  interpreters  astray  at  the  foundation  ; 
the  relation  and  application  of  the  sixth  goats'-hair  curtain,  which  has  never 
before  been  explained  in  conformity  with  the  phraseology  of  the  sacred  text  and 
the  obvious  needs  of  the  case;  the  fitting  size,  the  mode  of  suspension,  and  the 
peculiar  folds  of  the  colored  curtains,  with  the  position  of  the  figures  embroidered 
on  them,  and  especially  the  distribution  of  their  colors  ;  the  shape  and  posture 
of  the  cherubim  ;  and  the  style  of  the  various  pieces  of  apparatus  and  costume,, 
including  the  mysterious  Urim  and  Thummim. 

!Vi89y565 


5.  The  symbolism  of  the  Tabernacle  has  been  treated  with  remarkable  fullness, 
and  yet  with  great  caution.  The  significance  of  the  different  emblems  has  been 
based,  not  upon  fantastic  conjecture,  or  traditionary  caprice,  but  upon  Scriptural 
warrant  and  sound  common  sense.  The  central  meaning  of  the  whole,  and  of  its 
several  parts  and  elements,  has  been  developed  in  such  a  way  as  cannot  but  com- 
mend it  to  the  piety  and  good  taste  of  Christian  believers.  Among  the  most 
striking  discoveries  in  this  department  may  be  mentioned  the  functional  import 
of  the  gradually  increasing  sanctity  of  the  several  apartments,  from  the  outer 
court  to  the  inmost  shrine  of  the  awful  Majesty,  with  its  cherubic  figures  standing 
as  sentinels  at  the  entrance  and  around  the  walls  ;  the  cherubic  statues,  as 
representatives  of  the  natural  laws  of  God,  guarding  the  receptacle  of  His  moral 
law ;  and  above  all  and  through  all,  the  sacred  colors,  "  blue  and  purple  and 
scarlet,"  always  named  in  the  proper  Hebraic  order,  with  the  "  gold  "  (yellow) 
and  the  "  fine  linen  "  (white),  spelling  out  the  worthy  hierogram  of  the  Atone- 
ment, "  Heaven's  royal  blood  purchases  purity ''  for  the  fallen  race  of  man. 
This  central  legend,  emblazoned  on  every  avenue  to  the  divine  Presence,  and 
also  on  the  drapery  of  the  pontifical  plenipotentiary,  silently  proclaimed  to  the 
devout  worshipper  the  grand  secret  of  the  one  true  faith,  devised  in  the  eternal 
counsels  of  the  Almighty. 

The  work  is  timely  for  the  elucidation  of  the  International  Sunday- 
school  Lessons  of  the  present  year,  which  embrace  this  portion  of  the 
history  of  Israel  ;  and  it  will  be  indispensable  to  the  equipment  of  every 
minister's  and  Bible  student's  library  for  all  time  to  come. 

The  price  for  both  parts  of  the  work  complete  is  $5. 

HARRIS,   JONES   &   CO.,   Publishers, 

PROVIDENCE    R.I. 


TTHE 


TABERNACLE  OF  ISRAEL 


IN  THE  DESERT; 


A  COMPANION  VOLUME  TO  THE  PORTFOLIO  OF  PLATES, 


EXPLANATORY  OF  THE  PARTICULARS, 


WITH  DETAILED  PLANS  AND  DRAWINGS,  AND  LETTER-PRESS 

DESCRIPTIONS. 


By  JANIKS  STRONG,  S.T.D.,  LL.D. 


PROVIDENCE,    R.    I. 
1888. 


Copyriaht,  188S,   by  JA^MIKS    STRONG-. 


vo 


bi/i 


S77 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE. 

I.  Introduction 1 

II.  Authorities 3 

i.  Ancient 3 

1.  Sacred 3 

2.  Non-Biblical 3 

ii.  Modern 4 

1,  General 4 

3.  Special 5 

III.  History 9 

i.  Ante-Sinaitic 9 

ii.  Mosaic 9 

iii.  Davidic 10 

IV.  Structure 12 

i.  Court 12 

1.  Circuit 12 

3.  Contents 17 

(1.)  Altar 17 

(2.)  Laver 19 

ii.  Fane 19 

1.  Walls ^1 

(1.)  Planks 21 

(3.)  Sockets 23 

(3.)  Bars 25 

(4.)  Stays 25 

(5.)  Sheathing 26 

2.  Roof 26 

(1.)  Canvas 27 

(3.)  Supports 33 

3.  Hangings 33 

(1.)  Door-screen 33 

(3.)  Side-curtains 34 

4.  Furniture 40 

(1.)  Show-bread  table 41 

(3.)  Incense-altar 44 

'                   (3.)  Candelabrum 45 

(4.)  Trumpets 48 


PAQB. 

5.  Additional  Remarks 48 

(1.)  Manufacture 49 

(2.)  Transportation 49 

iii.  Shrine 51 

1.  Door-vail 51 

(1.)  Embroidery 51 

(2.)  Support 52 

(3.)  Position 53 

2.  Ark 54 

(1.)  Form 55 

(3.)  Cherubim 55 

(3.)  Contents 57 

3.  Perfumes 59 

(1.)  Powder 59 

(3.)  Paste 60 

iv.  Regalia 60 

1.  Levitical 60 

2.  Sacerdotal 61 

(1.)  Drawers 62 

(2.)  Tunic 63 

(3.)  Girdle 63 

(4.)  Cap 63 

3.  Pontifical  (special) 64 

(1.)  Rol)e 65 

(3.)  Ephod 66 

(3.)  Breastplate 67 

(4.)  Urim 69 

v.  Symbolism 71 

i.  Proportion 73 

1.  Decimal  (the  fingers) 74 

2.  Septenary  (the  week) 74 

3.  Quadruple  (part  of  seven) 75 

4.  Triple  (remainder  of  seven) 75 

5.  Double  (dualism) 75 

6.  Single  (unity) 75 

ii.  Color 76 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE. 

,  Black  (shade) 77 

,  White  (purity) 77 

Blue  (the  sky) 78 

,  Purple  (royalty) 79 

,  Crimson  (blood) 79 

,  Yellow  (the  sun) 79 

Figure 81 

,  Rectangular  (regularity) 81 

.  Round  (symmetry) 81 

,  Cherubim  (natural  law) 82 

,  Arks  (preservation) 85 

(1.)  Of  Noah  (dimensions) 86 

(2.)  Of  the  Covenant  (style) 87 

(3.)  Of  bulrushes 88 

,  Tables  of   the  decalogue  (moral 

law) 88 

.  Ornaments  (beauty) 90 

Material  (in  construction) 91 

.  Wood  (support) 91 

Copper  (durabilty) 92 

Silver  (clearness) 92 

Gold  (value) 92 

Linen  (cleanliness)   92 

.  Wool  (warmth) 93 

.  Goats'  hair  (compactness) 93 

.  Rams'  skin  (protection) 93 

.  Fur  (softness) 93 

.  Rope  (strength) 93 

.  Gems  (hardness) 93 


PAGE, 

v.  Elements  (in  worshij)) 93 

1.  Water  (regeneration) 93 

2.  Fire  (zeal) 93 

3.  Flesh  (substance) 93 

4.  Fat  (choice) 93 

5.  Blood  (life) 93 

6.  Flour  (vigor) 93 

7.  Oil  (richness) 93 

8.  Wine  (cheerfulness)    93 

9.  Salt  (wholesomeness) 93 

10,  Spice  (acceptability) 93 

vi.  Sanctity  (comparative) 93 

1.  Court  (special  ministry) 93 

(1.)  Laver  (piety) 94 

(2.)  Altar  (consecration) 94 

2.  HolyPlace  (functional  priesthood)  94 
(1.)  Candelabrum  (intelligence)..  94 
(2.)  Show-bread  Table  (conscien- 
tiousness)    94 

(3.)  Incense-altar  (prayer) 94 

3.  Most  Holy  Place  (rei)resentative 

high-priesthood) 94 

4.  Mercy-seat  (deity) 94 

vii.     Revelation  (gradual) 94 

1.  Shekinah  (general  theophany). ..  95 
(1.)  Cloud  (outward  guidance). . .  95 
(2.)  IVIercy-seat  (gr:icc) 95 

2.  Urim     and     Thumraim    (inward 

guidance) 95 

3.  Tables  of  the  Law  (ethics) 96 


COLORED    LITHOGRAPHS. 


PLATE  I.  Ground-plan  of  the  Tabernacle,  with  Elevation  of  the  Door-way  to  the  Court,  and 
a  Bird's-Eye  Sketch  of  the  Desert  of  Sinai  and  the  Surrounding  Regions. 

PLATE  IL  The  Tabernacle  as  pitched  before  Mt.  Sinai. 

Explanationn. — The  view  is  from  the  North.  The  wide  plain  in  the  foreground  is  that 
of  er-Rahah.  The  central  mountain  in  the  background  is  Jebel  Musa  (in  the  wider 
application  of  the  name),  of  red  granite,  seamed  and  cracked  as  if  by  fire  ;  and  the 
pinnacle  immediately  in  front  is  Ras  Sufsafeh.  At  the  right  is  Jebel  Ghubsheh,  of 
dark  porphyry,  with  the  valley  of  the  Lejah  between.  At  the  left  is  Jebel  ed-Deir, 
inclosing  the  valley  of  the  same  name,  so-called  from  the  monastery  of  St.  Catherine 
situated  in  it.  The  tents  scattered  around  are  those  of  the  leading  Israelites,  the 
upright  octagonal  one  being  supposed  to  be  that  of  Moses  himself.  (The  regular 
encampment  around  the  Tabernacle  is  not  here  exhibited,  as  that  arrangement 
appears  to  have  been  made  for  the  march  at  a  later  period  than  the  first  erection  at 
Sinai.)  The  plain  has  a  few  stunted  bushes,  and  a  couple  of  rills  issue  from  the 
valleys  on  either  side  of  the  middle  cone.  In  the  foreground  is  a  side-view  of  the 
Tabernacle  (enough  of  the  front  being  shown  to  give  a  general  idea  of  its  form), 
surrounded  by  the  Court.  The  cloudy  Pillar  is  resting  on  the  roof  over  the  Mercy- 
seat.  A  Levite  is  raking  together  the  embers  on  the  Altar  of  Burnt-offering,  and 
a  priest  is  washing  his  feet  at  the  Laver.  Outside  the  high-priest  is  taking  the 
scape-goat  to  the  man  who  is  to  lead  it  away  into  the  wilderness. 


PLATE  III.    Erection  of  the  Tabernacle  at  a  Stopping-place  in  the  Desert. 

Explaiuitions. — The  view  is  from  the  South.  The  background  is  the  pass  of  Wady  el-Ain 
(in  the  heart  of  the  Desert  east  of  Mt.  Sinai),  so  called  from  a  spring  that  sends  a  small 
stream  through  the  valley.*  The  mountains  rise  about  3,000  feet  perpendicularly. 
The  Levites  are  seen  busy  in  unloading  the  wagons,  rearing  the  walls  of  the  Taber- 
nacle, and  bringing  tlie  poles,  the  sockets  and  the  various  pieces  of  furniture.  A 
few  priests  (Aaron's  sons)  are  sitting  or  standing  by,  superintending  the  work.  All 
are  in  the  common  Oriental  habiliments  of  secular  life,  as  the  sacred  order  wore 
their  distinctive  costumes  only  when  on  official  duty.  The  ladder  in  the  foreground, 
obviously  needful  in  adjusting  the  fixtures  to  the  tops  of  the  planks,  is  like  those 
depicted  on  the  monuments  as  used  by  the  ancient  Egyptians  in  scaling  the  walls  of 
hostile  cities.  The  cloudy  pillar  hovers  in  the  air,  indicating  the  spot  for  the 
encampment. 


*  It  is  not  certain  that  the  main  line  of  the  Israelitas, 
including  the  Tabernacle,  actually  passed  through  this 
particular  gorge,  although  they  must  once  at  least  have 
journeyed  very  near  it;  but  it  is  strikingly  graphic  of 
the  character  of  the  central  region  of  the  Sinaitic  pen- 


insula. All  the  features  of  the  landscupe,  even  to  the 
minutiaj  of  the  human  faces  cut  by  nature  in  profile  on 
the  edges  of  the  left-hand  rocks,  are  faithfully  copied 
from  the  original  photograph. 


vi  COLORED   LITHOGRAPHS. 

PLATE  IV.    Front  views  of  the  Tabernacle. 

A.  Exterior  of  the  Sanctuary. 

B.  Interior  of  the  Holy  Place. 

C.  Interior  of  the  Most  Holy  Phice. 

D.  One  of  the  "Wall-Curtains  (extended). 

Explanations. — These  apartments  are  as  they  would  appear  from  a  slight  altitude  on  the 
East,  and  the  scale  of  course  is  applicable  only  to  the  front  openings,  but  the  parts 
in  perspective  are  proportional.  The  stay-cords  are  removed  so  as  to  afford  an 
unobstructed  view.  The  furniture  is  seen  placed  on  fur  rugs.  The  side-curtain 
exhibited  is  the  second  in  order  from  the  front  on  the  right,  and  is  shown  as  made  up 
but  not  hung.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  colors  of  the  woollen  woof  on  all 
these  vertical  curtains  are  reduced  in  intensity  by  the  white  ground  or  cross-lines  of 
the  linen  warp,  so  that  the  violet  shows  as  sky-blue,  the  purple  as  a  deep  marone, 
and  the  crimson  as  a  light  cherry. 

PLATE  V.  Furniture  of  the  Tabernacle. 

A.  Altar  of  Burnt-offering,  with  its  "Vessels." 

B.  Altar  of  Incense. 

C.  Silver  Trumpets. 

D.  Laver. 

E.  Candelabrum,  with  its  "Vessels." 

F.  Table  of  Show-bread,  Avith  its  "Vessels." 

G.  Ark  and  "Mercy-seat,"  with  the  Cherubim. 

PLATE  VI.    Vestments  of  the  Tabernacle. 

A.  Levite  (in  working  garb). 

B.  Priest  (in  sacred  dress). 

G.  High-priest  (in  full  costume). 
D.  The  Pontifical  regalia  (in  detail). 

i.  Tunic,    ii.  Robe.    iii.  Girdle  (extended),    iv.  Ephod  (side  view),     v.  Breast- 
plate (back  side,  open).       vi.  One  of   the  shoulder  studs  (full  size),      a.  Face. 
h.  Back. 
Explanations. — The  Levite  holds  the  tools  usual  for  putting  up  a  tent  (a  mallet  and  a 
pin),  the  priest  the  instruments  of  sacrifice  (a  knife  for  slaying  the  victim,  and  a 
bowl  for  catching  the  blood),  and  the  high-priest  the  utensils  for  performing  the 
rites  on  the  day  of  annual  atonement  (a  censer  and  a  bowl  for  blood).*     The  articles 
of  his  apparel  separately  exhibited  are  of  such  a  form  or  in  such  a  position  as  could 
not  be  fully  shown  on  his  person.     The  lettering  on  his  frontlet  and  breastplate  is  in 
the  archaic  Heb.  character,  substantially  after  the  style  of   the  Siloam  inscription 
(the  earliest  extant,  but  the  latest  discovered),  which  we  have  accommodated  to  our 
purpose  by  a  somewhat  greater  uniformity  in  the  size  and  slope  of  the  principal 
strokes. 


*  According  to  the  natural  interpretation  of  Lev.  xvi, 
4,  23,  24,  and  the  Rabbinic  usage,  the  higli-priest  wore 
only  a  special  suit  of  plain  (apparently  unbleached) 
linen  apparel  (including  the  innermost  girdle),  when 
he  went  into  the  Holy  of  Holies  for  these  functions 
(which  required  several  distinct  entrances  into  that 
apartment — all  of  them,  however,  on  that  single  day, 
Heb.  ix,  7),  also  when  ho  gave  the  scape-goat  into  the 


custody  of  the  person  (apparently  within  the  Court)  to 
take  it  away  to  the  wilderness;  but  for  the  sake  of 
distinctness  we  have,  in  our  pictures,  invested  him  with 
the  complete  official  attire  in  both  cases,  and  have  made 
the  latter  act  take  place  outside  the  Court.  This  is  the 
more  allowable,  inasmucii  as  he  was  thus  fully  equipped 
during  the  otlier  services  of  that  day. 


WOOD-CUTS. 


1.  The  Jewish  Utensils  on  the  Arch  of  Titus  at  Rome facing  4 

2.  Pillar  with  Rods  and  Hooks 15 

3.  Altar  of  Burnt-offering,  with  the  Grate  drawn  out 17 

4.  Wooden  Walls  of  the  Tabernacle 20 

5.  Comparison  of  the  tenons  and  mortises  with  the  rounds  of  a  ladder 21 

6.  Corner-plank  of  the  Tabernacle 22 

7.  Socket  of  the  Tabernacle 23 

8.  Arrangement  of  the  Corner-sockets 24 

9.  "  Tache  "  and  Ankle  compared 25 

10.  Arab  Tents  in  the  South  of  Judah 27 

11.  Roof-curtains  as  made  up 29 

12.  Rear  Gable  nearly  closed  by  the  Sixth  Roof-curtain 30 

13.  Fold  in  the  Roof-curtain  at  the  Corner 31 

14.  Probable  Form  of  the  First  and  Third  Tabernacles 33 

15.  Section  of  Plank  with  Attachments 36 

16.  Side-curtain  furnished  w.  '^  Loops 37 

17.  Arrangement  of  Side-curtain 38 

18.  Corner-folds  in  Side-curtain 39 

19.  Length  of  Colored  loops  by  Triangulation 40 

20.  Table  of  Show-bread  on  the  Arch  of  Titus 41 

21.  Transverse  Section  of  Table  of  Show-bread 42 

22.  Candelabrum  on  the  Arch  of  Titus 45 

23.  Concentric  Arrangement  of  the  Ornaments  on  the  Candelabrum 45 

24.  Comparison  of  each  of  the  Enlargements  on  the  Candelabrum  with  its  natural  Type.  . .  47 

25.  Lamp  and  its  socket 48 

26.  Cherubim  of  an  Egyptian  Shrine  carried  in  a  Boat  by  Priests 56 

27.  A  Fellah  Peasant 61 

28.  A  Bedawin  Sheik 61 

29.  Modern  Oriental  Drawers  for  a  Gentleman 62 

30.  Modern  Oriental  Shirt 62 

31.  Modern  Oriental  Girdle  (extended) 63 

32.  Modern  Oriental  Skull-cap :    64 

33.  Modern  Oriental  Turban  (folded) 65 

34.  Ancient  Egyptian  Chief-Priest 66 

35.  Ephod  extended 67 

36.  Twisted  Chain 69 

37.  Restoration  of  Noah's  Ark 89 

38.  Probable  form  of  the  Ark  of  Bulrushes 90 

39.  The  Acacia  Seyal facing  91 


THE  TABERNACLE  OF  ISRAEL, 


CHAPTER  I. 


INTRODUCTION    TO    THE    TABERNACLE. 

For  more  than  thirty  years  the  subject  of  this  work  has  been  an  earnest  study  with 
the  Author,  and  in  the  course  of  his  investigations  and  comparisons  he  has  procured 
and  carefully  examined  every  book  of  note  treating  upon  it.  In  his  article  under 
that  head  in  the  CyclajxEclia  of  Biblical,  Theological  and  Ecclesiastical  Literature 
he  embodied  in  a  condensed  form  the  results  of  these  researches  up  to  that  time 
(1881),  and  he  has  since  continued  to  pursue  them  with  unabated  interest.  When 
therefore  the  publishers  of  this  work  proposed  to  him,  in  May,  1887,  the  preparation  of 
a  series  of  walLsheets  exhibiting  the  whole  edifice  and  its  connections  on  a  large  scale 
and  in  its  minutiae,  together  with  a  brief  Manual  elucidating  the  same,  he  could  not 
well  decline  so  congenial  a  task,  as  it  seemed  likely  to  prove  useful  to  Bible  readers 
and  students,  especially  in  view  of  the  International  Sunday-School  Lessons  embrac- 
ing this  topic.  Accordingly  he  determined  to  explore  the  whole  subject  afresh,  and 
to  sift  every  particular  to  the  bottom,  aided  by  all  the  light  that  modern  erudition 
and  the  latest  researches  can  afford.  This  he  has  done  faithfully  and  impartially, 
and  he  has  endeavored  to  set  forth  the  results  in  as  clear  and  simple,  yet  as  scientific 
and  comprehensive  language  as  he  can  command,  with  the  best  facilities  of  artistic 
co-operation.*  How  far  he  has  succeeded  in  unravelling  the  entanglements  which 
have  hitherto  baftled  the  skill  and  learning  of  interpreters,  and  in  making  the  whole 
plain  to  the  average  comprehension,  the  intelligent  reader,  who  will  take  the  pains  to 
follow  him  in  his  elucidations,  will  be  able  to  judge  for  himself.  He  has  here 
brought  together  everything  thus  far  ascertained,  that  he  judges  adapted  to  be  of 
service  in  conveying  a  just  idea  of  that  remarkable  building,  the  first  and  (including 
its  later  development,  the  Temple  of  Jerusalem)  the  only  one  immediately  devised 
and  directly  authorized  by  the  Almighty  himself  as  his  place  of  special  worship  for 
his  chosen  people.  As  such  it  has  ever  since  held  a  conspicuous  position  in  the  eyes 
and  thoughts  of  saints,  and  in  these  later  days  of   archaeological  science  it  has  still 


*  The  lithographs  and  engravin<;s  have  been  scrupu- 
lously copied  from  photographs,  sketches,  and  color- 
ings made  by  the  Author  himself,  carefully  reproduced 
and  improved  by  an  experienced  and  skilful  draughts- 


man under  the  Autlior's  immediate  superintendence, 
and  the  most  minute  pains  have  been  taken  to  make 
them  both  graphic  and  accurate. 


2  INTRODUCTION  TO   TEE   TABERNACLE. 

retained  its  hold  upon  tlie  reverent  curiosity  of  an  intelligent  world.  Great  pains 
liave  been  taken  by  learned  men  to  restore  it  as  fully  as  possible  to  the  apprehension 
of  modern  Occidentals ;  and  the  present  effort,  it  is  hoped,  \vill  not  be  regarded  as 
over-ambitious  in  aspiring  to  do  this  more  completely  than  heretofore  for  popular 
purposes.  The  Author  has  no  pet  theory  to  estabhsh,  nor  any  doctrinal  influence  to 
bias  him ;  he  has  simply  aimed  to  collect,  weigh  and  combine  the  information  afforded 
by  every  source  accessible,  to  incorporate  whatever  new  features  his  own  discoveries 
and  comparisons  have  introduced,  and  to  present  everytliing  really  pertinent  in  as 
lucid  and  systematic  a  form  as  the  topic  allows.*  He  does  not,  in  tliis  little  volume, 
tliink  it  worth  while  to  controvert  the  various  opinions  expressed  by  others,  so  much 
as  to  indicate  the  conclusions  which  on  the  whole  he  believes  vdW  commend  them- 
selves best  to  the  common  sense  of  general  readers,  after  they  have  been  put  in 
possession  of  the  facts  in  the  case.f 


*  We  have  studied  the  utmost  possible  brevity  in 
our  phraseology,  and  for  the  same  reason  have 
thrown  most  of  the  minute  discussion  into  foot- 
notes. 

f  Some  of  the  combinations,  that  require  to  be  re- 
solved in  the  reconstruction  of  this  unique  specimen 
of  architectural  skill  for  a  movable  seat  of  worship, 
will  be  found  so  elaborate  and  profound  as  to  argue 
a  source  higlier  than  mere  human  ingenuity,  and  to 
evince,  to  the  devout  inquirer,  that  pervading  sim- 
plicity and  yet  harmony  which  characterize  whatever 
is  the  product  of  divine   contrivance.     If  it  be  not 


deemed  presumptuous  in  Saint  Bernard  of  Clugny  to 
aver  that  he  never  could  have  composed  his  famous 
"Jerusalem  the  Golden,"  in  its  peculiarly  difficult 
metre,  without  special  inspiration,  we  trust  that  we 
may  not  be  charged  with  a  lack  of  modest}-  in  cher- 
ishing the  thought  of  some  measure  of  that  spiritual 
aid  in  expounding  this  portion  of  Scripture,  which 
we  believe  the  sacred  penman  more  fully  enjoyed 
when  he  indited  it.  The  Author-r-as  he  thinks  he 
may  without  irreverence  be  permitted  to  say — seems 
to  himself  to  have  caught  a  glimpse  of  that  model 
which  was  shown  to  Moses  in  the  "mount  of  God." 


CHAPTER   II. 


AUTHORITIES   ON    THE   TABERNACLE. 


I,  We  naturally  take  these  iij)  in  the  order  of  time. 

1.  The  most  trustworthy,  as  well  as  the  fullest  and  most  definite  source  of  infor- 
mation concerning  the  Israelitish  Tabernacle  is  of  course  the  Bible,  especially  the 
classic  passage  (Exod.  xxv — xxviii),  which  minutely  prescribes  the  construction  of  the 
edifice  and  its  apparatus,  together  with  the  parallel  passage  (Exod.  xxxv — xl),  which 
describes,  in  almost  the  same  words,  the  execution  of  the  task.  The  phraseology  of 
the  original  record,  although  remarkable  for  its  terseness,  will  be  found,  when 
minutely  examined,  to  convey  or  to  imply  precisely  enough  to  guide  the  intelligent 
reader  in  every  important  particular. 

Considerable  additional  light  is  thrown  upon  the  subject  by  the  specifications 
later  made  in  the  Scriptural  account  of  the  Temple  of  Solomon  (1  Kings  vi ;  2  Chron. 
iii,  iv),  including  that  seen  in  vision  by  Ezekiel  (xl — xlii),  both  of  which  were  modelled, 
in  all  their  most  essential  features,  after  the  plan  of  the  Tabernacle,  as  we  shall  have 
occasion  to  see.  Scattered  notices  are  occasionally  given  elsewhere  in  Holy  Writ, 
which  serve  to  confirm,  complete  or  correct  our  inferences  from  these  main  fountains 
of  specification. 

2.  Of  profane  authorities  in  ancient  times  the  principal  one  by  far  is  Josephus, 
who  in  his  well-known  description  of  the  earliest  sacred  building  of  the  Jews  {An- 
tiquities, III,  vi,  2 — ^vii,  T),  repeats,  with  some  variation  and  a  few  original  suggestions, 
the  statements  of  Scripture  on  the  subject. 

Very  little  information  is  contained  in  the  Rabbinical  Avritings  of  the  Jews, 
which  could  aid  us  in  reconstructing  the  Tabernacle,*  and  none  at  all  in  the  litera- 
ture of  any  heathen  nation  of  antiquity,  except  the  Egyptians,  whose  temples  were 
evidently  a  type,  but  only  in  the  most  general  sense,  of  the  Tabernacle  and  the 
Temple.  For  although  both  these  edifices  were  expressly  planned  by  the  divine 
Architect  (Exod.  xxv,  40  ;  1  Chron.  xxviii,  11,  12,  19),  yet  the  triple  arrangement  of 
a  shrine  within  a  fane,  and  this  again  within  an  outer  inclosure,  was  a  marked  feature 
of  the  noted  temples  with  which  the  Hebrews  had  become  familiar  in  Egypt.  It  is 
true  that  these  structures,  the  remains  of  which  have  survived  to  the  present  day, 
were  built  at  a  much  later  date  than  that  of  the  Exode,  but  they  are  doubtless  succes- 
sors of  earlier  edifices  resembling  them  in  their  main  outlines. 


*  Paine  (in  his  second  edition)  lias  given  a  full 
translation,  with  copious  annotations,  of  a  curious 
old  Hebrew  document  anonymously  entitled  Sippur- 


enu  (i.e.,  "Our  Record"),  in  which  the  unknown 
author's  opinions  corroborate  some  of  his  own  con- 
clusions. 


4  AUTHORITIES   ON  THE   TABERNACLE. 

In  a  similar  way  the  sacerdotal  regalia  of  the  ancient  Egyptians,  and  their  sacri- 
ficial implements,  as  depicted  upon  their  monuments,  give  us  a  partial  clew  to  the 
intricacies  of  some  of  the  Jewish  priestly  services  and  garments,  esi^ecially  that  curious 
article  called  the  ephod^  and  its  mysterious  accompaniments.  (See  Fig.  34.)  Like- 
wise the  sacred  Ark,  with  the  cherubic  figures  upon  it,  is  illustrated  to  some  extent 
in  the  hieratic  boat  sketched  on  the  sculptures  as  borne  in  procession  by  the  Egyptian 
priests,  and  then  deposited  in  the  adytum  of  their  temple.  (See  Fig.  26.)  Assyriology 
also  furnishes  a  few  hints  as  to  some  particulars. 

From  a  most  unexpected  quarter  there  has  come  a  clear  ray  to  determine  some 
of  the  vexed  questions  concerning  the  utensils  of  the  Tabernacle,  especially  the 
Golden  Candelabrum.  Delineations  of  the  successors  of  these  objects,  taken  by  the 
Romans  on  the  fall  of  Jerusalem,  appear  upon  the  memorial  arch  of  Titus  at  Rome, 
and  are  the  more  valuable  as  being  imdoubtedly  authentic,  and  carved  by  contem- 
poraries. (See  Fig.  1.)  They  are  probably  more  elaborate,  as  was  true  of  all  the  ap- 
paratus in  the  Herodian  Temple,  than  those  in  the  Solomonic  structure,  and  still  more 
so  doubtless  than  the  severe  style  of  the  earlier  Tabernacle  ;  yet  they  serve  a  most 
important  use  in  deciding  where  particulars  are  elsewhere  lacking  or  uncertain. 
These  specimens  were  copied  by  the  indefatigable  A.  Reland  in  the  last  century, 
M'hen  they  were  perhaps  less  dilapidated  than  now ;  and  his  drawings  were  printed 
in  his  learned  monograph  on  the  subject  {De  Spoliis  TemjM,  etc.,  Utrecht,  1716, 
small  8vo  ;  2d  ed.  by  Schultze,  1775.)  (See  Figs.  20,  22.)  This  httle  work  of  Reland, 
like  all  his  other  archaeological  investigations,  is  well-nigh  exhaustive  of  the  special 
topic  on  which  it  treats,  so  far  as  information  was  attainable  in  his  day.  The  present 
appearance  of  the  Arch  of  Titus  is  shown  with  photographic  exactness  in  many 
published  volumes,  and  the  actual  remains  are  open  to  the  inspection  of  every  tourist. 

Oriental  usages,  which,  although  ascertained  chiefly  by  modern  travellers,  are  of 
so  permanent  a  character  that  they  may  fairly  be  ranked  with  antiquarian  researches, 
aid  us  to  a  great  extent  in  forming  an  accurate  conception  of  the  Tabernacle  and  its 
appliances. 

II.  "Writings  of  our  own  time  are  of  course  secondary  in  their  authority  on  such 
a  subject  as  this,  but  they  cannot  safely  be  ignored.  On  the  contrary  the  wise  and 
candid  archaeologist  will  welcome  and  carefully  weigh  every  new  suggestion  of  other 
minds,  earnestly  devoted  to  the  solution  of  the  many  problems  still  undeniably  left  on 
these  difficult  ]:)articulars.  He  may  not,  indeed  he  cannot,  accept  all  their  conclu- 
sions, for  they  often  widely  conflict  with  one  another,  and  not  unfrequently  contradict 
plain  inferences  from  the  language  of  the  ancient  record,  or  probable  necessities  of 
the  case. 

1.  Among  the  works  of  a  general  antiquarian  character,  that  bear  specially  upon 
this  topic,  we  first  mention,  as  probably  the  most  important,  K.  W.  F.  Bahr''s  Sijm- 
holilc  des  Mosaischen  Cultus  \^y\xiho\\si\\  of  the  Mosaic  Worship]  (Heidelberg,  2  vols. 
8vo,  1837-39  ;  2d  ed.  1874),  which,  with  much  learning  and  judiciousness,  discusses 
most  of  the  architectonic  as  well  as  symbolic  questions  relating  to  the  Jewish  Taber- 
nacle (i,  56),  and  has  been  the  chief  treasure-house  for  more  recent  explorers  in  the 


■^  3 
X  ? 
c 

=  '^ 
P    3 


"SS 


MODERN  SOURCES    OF  INFORMATION.  S 

same  line.  The  subject  is  treated  in  most  works  on  Hebrew  Antiquities,  sucli  as 
those  of  H.  Lund  (Hamburg,  1695,  1738,  8vo),  aiid  J.  L.  Saalschiitz  (Konigsl)., 
1855-6,  2  vols.  8vo) ;  also  in  the  critical  commentaries  on  Exodus,  especially  those 
of  M.  Kalisch  (London,  1855),  C.  F.  Keil  (translated,  Edinb.,  1866),  and  J.  G.  Mur- 
phy (reprinted,  Andover,  1868) ;  and  of  course  in  all  Bible  Dictionaries,  from  Calmet 
to  Herzog.  Kitto,  in  his  Pictorial  Bible  (notes  on  Exodus),  and  Pailloux,  in  his 
Monographie  du  Temple  de  Salomon  (Paris,  1885;  chaps,  xi  and  xii),  have  made 
some  attempt  at  a  reconstruction  of  the  Tabernacle ;  but  they  have  elicited  little  if 
anything  new  or  valuable  on  the  subject. 

On  special  points,  besides  the  work  of  Reland,  noticed  above,  there  are  several, 
all  in  the  olden  style,  of  which  the  most  important  is  that  of  J.  Braun,  Vestltus 
Sacerdotum  Hehrcmrum  [The  Clothing  of  the  Hebrew  Priests]  (Leyden,  1690,  small 
4to ;  2d  ed.  much  improved,  Amsterdam,  1698).  Braun's  treatise  fails  chiefly,  like  most 
similar  ones  of  his  time,  from  lack  of  the  light  which  modern  travel  and  research  have 
shed  upon  the  suljject.  Its  mode  of  discussion  is  rather  from  the  European  than  the 
Oriental  point  of  view.  A  similar  criticism  is  applicable  to  the  otherwise  complete 
dissertation  of  Antonius  Bynseus  on  ancient  Hebrew  shoes  {De  ealcels  Ilehi'ceoriim, 
Dort,  1682,  12mo  ;  1715,  8vo),  which  has  some  pertinence  here.  The  treatise  of  Dr. 
S.  I.  Curtiss,  Jr.,  entitled  The  Levltlcal  Priests  (Edinburgh,  1877,  8vo),  is  a  reply  to 
the  objections  of  the  destructive  critics  (Colenso,  Kuenen,  etc.)  against  the  authentic- 
ity of  the  Pentateuch  founded  on  the  alleged  discrepancies  in  the  statements  con- 
cerning the  Mosaic  cultus,  and  therefore  discusses  the  archaeology  of  the  subject  but 
incidentally. 

2.  The  earlier  monographs  on  this  subject,  such  as  those  of  G.  Peringer  {Historla 
Tabernacull  Mosaici,  Upsala,  1668,  8vo),  C.  Mel  {GrundlicJie  Beschre'ibung  der 
Stiftshiitte.,  Frankfort-on-the-Oder,  1709,  4to),  Conradi  {De  Tabernaculi  3fosis  Struc- 
tura,  Offenbach,  1712,  4to),  S.  Van  Til  {Commentarius  de  Tabernaculo  Mosis.,  Dort, 
1714,  4to),  A.  Driessen  {Mosis  Tahernacidum.,  Utrecht,  1714,  4to),  B.  Laniy  {De 
Taheniacido  Fa'deris,  Paris,  1720,  fob).  A,  Schultens  {Mystenum  Tahernacidi 
Mosis,  Franeker,  1729,  4to),  and  J.  G.  Tympe  {Tabernaculi  e  Monumentis  Descrip- 
tion Jena,  1731,  4to),  being  based  almost  exclusively  upon  traditionary  or  conventional 
interpretation  and  speculation,  have  long  since  become  wholly  obsolete.  The  same 
remark  applies  with  nearly  equal  force  to  most  of  the  essays  on  special  points  con- 
nected with  the  Tabernacle,  such  as  those  of  J.  J.  Leone  {De  Cheruhinis,  Amsterdam, 
1647 ;  Helmstiidt,  1665 ;  in  the  original  Spanish,  Amsterdam,  1654,  4to),  the  same 
author,  Del  Area  del  Testamfinto  (Amsterdam,  1653,  4to)  ;  C.  Geissler  {De  Cheruhhn, 
Wittenberg,  1661,  4to),  A.  Calov  {De  Urim.  et  Thummim,,  Wittenberg,  1675,  4to), 
G.  Thym  {Lahrum  Aeneicm,  Schwandorf,  1675,  4to),  D.  A¥eimar  {De  Suffitu  Aro- 
matico,  Jena,  1678,  4to),  G.  D.  Ziegra  {De  Oleo  Unctionis  Sacro,  Wittenberg,  1680, 
4to),  J.  B.  Werner  {De  Propitiator io,  Giessen,  1695,  4to),  G.  Stillmann  {De  Cands- 
labro  Aureo,  Bremen,  1700,  4to),  J.  ab  Hamm  {De  Ara  Inter  lore,  Herborn,  1715, 
4to),  H.  G.  Clemens  {De  Labro  Aeneo,  Utrecht,  1725 ;  Groningen,  1732,  8vo  ;  also 
in  Ugolino's  Thesaurus,  xix),  A.  Clant  {De  Lahro  Tahernaculi,  Groningen,  1733, 


6  AUTHORITIES   ON  THE   TABERNACLE. 

4to),  C.  L.  Schlicliter  {Be  Mensa  Facierum,  Halle,  1738,  4to;  also  in  Ugolino's 
Thesaurus,  x),  C.  G.  F.  Wolf  {De  Urim  et  Thunwnim,  Leipsic,  1T40,  4to),  C.  L. 
Schlicliter  {De  Lychnucho  Sacro,  Halle,  1740,  4to),  C.  W.  Tlialemann  {De  Nube 
super  Area.,  Leipsic,  1752,  4to ;  1771,  8vo),  J.  F.  Stiebritz  {De  Urim  et  Thumrnim, 
Halle,  1753,  4to),  C.  L.  Sclicliter  {De  Suffitu  Sacra  Hehrcmrum,  Halle,  1754,  4to),  S. 
Kail  {N'uhes  super  Area  Foederis,  Herborn,  1757;  Utrecht,  1760,  4to),  J.  K.  Velt-. 
hiisen  (  Va7i  den  Cherubinen,  Brunswick,  1764,  8vo),  W.  F.  Hufnagel  {Der  Cheruhhin, 
Frankfort-on-the-JVIain,  1821,  8vo),  J.  J.  Bellermann  {Die  TJrhn  und  Thummira., 
Berlin,  1824,  8vo),  T.  P.  C.  Kaiser  {De  CheruUs  Mosaicis,  Erlangen,  1827,  4to),  C.  L. 
Hendewerk  {De  Seraphim  et  Cheruhim,  Konigsburg,  1836,  8vo),  G.  ^imih.  {Doctrine 
of  the  Cherubim,  London,  1850,  8vo),  and  A.  McLeod  {Cherubim  and  the  Apocalypse, 
London,  1856,  8vo),  the  majority  of  which  we  have  directly  perused,  besides  numerous 
disquisitions  in  more  extended  archseological  works,  in  commentaries  and  in  period- 
icals. 

Of  later  treatises  expressly  on  the  Jewish  Tabernacle  as  a  whole,  the  following  is 
a  nearly  complete  list,  comprising  those  which  we  have  personally  and  minutely  ex- 
amined. 

(1.)  Symbolik  der  Mo8aische}i  Stiftshutte  [Symbolism  of  the  Mosaic  Tabernacle]. 
Eine  Vertheidigung  Dr.  Luther's  gegen  Dr.  Bahr.  Von  Ferdinand  Friederich, 
Pastor  zu  St.   Johannis  in  Wernigerode.      Mit  23  Tafeln  Abbildungen    (Leipzig, 

1841,  8vo,  pp.  369  and  vi).  This,  as  the  title  states,  is  in  opposition  to  Biihr's  ideal- 
istic symbolism,  and  reduces  the  Tabernacle  to  an  enlargement  of  the  human  body, 
the  proportions  of  which  are  fantastically  compared  with  it. 

(2.)  The  Tahernacle  in  the  Wilderness',  the  Shadow  of  Heavenly  Things.  Four 
Engravings,  Coloured,  and  Inlaid,  with  Gold,  Silver,  and  Brass,  according  to  the 
Texts  of  Scripture,  With  Explanatory  Notes.     By  W.  G.  Ehind  (2d  edition,  London, 

1842,  small  folio,  pp.  iii  and  36).  This  is  but  a  more  elegant  reproduction  of  the 
older  schemes,  plans,  and  figures,  with  a  few  Scriptural  and  practical  elucidations. 

(3.)  Lectures  on  the  Typyical  Character  of  the  Jewish  Tabernacle,  Priesthood, 
and  Saerifice,  Preached  during  Lent,  1850.  By  Forster  G.  Simpson,  B.A.,  Curate  of 
Ickworth,  Suffolk  (London,  1852, 12mo,  pp.  viii  and  335).  This,  as  the  title  shows, 
is  a  general  exposition  of  the  Levitical  economy,  from  the  popular  Christian  point  of 
view,  and  therefore  enters  but  slightly  into  critical  details. 

(4.)  Die  Stiftshiitte,  von  Wilhelm  Neumann  (Gotha,  1861,  8vo,  pp.  vi  and  173). 
Tliis  elucidation  proceeds  almost  entirely  upon  the  analogies  of  Assyrian  antiquities, 
whicli  are  far  less  synchronous  and  familiar  with  the  Israelites  than  those  of  Egypt. 
The  details  are  wrought  out  witli  much  ingenuity,  but  are  often  highly  grotesque. 
None  of  the  essential  problems  of  tlie  structure  are  really  solved. 

(5.)  Die  Mosaische  Stiftshiltte  [The  Mosaic  Tabernacle],  by  Prof.  Dr.  Ch. 
Joh.  Riggenbach ;  with  three  lithographic  Plates  (Basel,  1862 ;  2d  ed.  1867,  4to,  pp. 
63).  This  is  a  brief,  but  scliolarly  treatise,  presenting  the  essential  features  of  the 
Tabernacle  in  a  clear  and  succinct  manner,  but  not  attempting  to  solve  all  the  abstru- 
sities of  the  subject. 


MODERN  SOURCES   OF  INFORMATION.  7 

(6.)  Solomon's  Temple  ;  or.,  the  Tabernacle  ;  First  Temple  ;  House  of  the  King., 
or  House  of  the  Forest  of  Lebanon;  Idolatrous  High  Places;  the  city  mi  the  Mount- 
ain (Rev.  xxi) ;  the  Oblation  of  the  Holy  Portion  /  and  the  Last  Temple.  With 
21  Plates  of  Q^  Figures,  accurately  copied  by  the  Lithographer  from  Careful  Draw- 
ings made  by  the  Author,  T.  O.  Paine,  LL.D,,  a  Minister  of  the  New  Jerusalem 
Church  (Boston,  1861,  large  8vo.,  pp.  99  ;  2d  ed.  greatly  enlarged,  with  new  title, 
1885,  pp.  200).  This  is  by  far  the  most  imposing  and  profound  work  on  the 
sacred  edifices  of  the  Jews  hitherto  published.  The  author  is  a  careful  scholar,  and 
an  acute  thinker,  and  he  has  grappled  with  the  difticulties  of  the  Tabernacle  in  a 
masterful  M'ay.  We  regret  our  inability  to  coincide  with  all  liis  conclusions,  *  but 
we  gladly  accept  many  of  them  as  the  only  ones  that  aj)pear  to  meet  the  exigencies 
of  the  case.     He  is  singularly  reticent  on  the  symbolism  of  the  subject. 

(7.)  The  Holy  Vessels  and  Furoiiture  of  the  Tabernacle  of  Israel,  by  H.  W. 
Soltau,  author  of  "An  Exposition  of  the  Tabernacle;"  "  the  Priestly  Garments  and  the 
Priesthood ;  "  etc.  (London,  1865,  oblong  4to,  pp.  viii  and  67).  With  ten  colored 
plates.  Also,  The  Tabernacle  of  Israel  Illustrated.  By  H.  W.  Soltau  (London,  1870, 
oblong  4to,  pp.  22).  With  nine  colored  plates.  These  are  splendid  little  volumes, 
but  lacking  in  critical  value.     They  are  altogether  popular  in  their  character. 

(8.)  The  Tabernacle  and  its  Priests  and  Services  described  and  considered  in 
relation  to  Christ  and  the  Church  /  with  diagrams,  views  and  wood-cuts  :  by  William 
Brown  (2nd  ed.  Edinb.  1872,  8vo,  pp.  xv  and  168).  This  is  an  honest  attempt  to 
elucidate  the  whole  subject  treated,  and  is  executed  with  a  very  creditable  degree  of 
earnestness  and  precision.  Some  of  its  suggestions  are  original  and  ingenious  ;  but  in 
many  points  it  singularly  fails  to  meet  the  just  requirements  of  the  case.  The 
resources  at  the  writer's  command  appear  to  have  been  limited,  and  his  conclusions 
are  therefore  liable  to  be  overthrown  by  a  wider  range  of  induction. 

(9.)  History  and  Significance  of  the  Sacred  Tabernacle  of  the  Hebrews,  by 
Edward  E.  Atwater  (New  York,  1875,  8vo,  pp.  xiv  and  448).  With  Illustrative 
Plates.  This  work  contains  little  that  is  original,  and  therefore  contributes  but 
slightly  to  the  elucidation  of  the  subject  beyond  its  predecessors.  It  is,  however,  a 
fair  popular  presentation  of  the  theme,  without  aiming  at  any  very  critical  purpose. 
The  mechanism  of  the  structure  is  very  imperfectly  wrought  out. 

(10.)  The  Temples  of  the  Jews,  and  the  Other  Buildings  in  the  Haram  Area  at 
Jerusalem,  by  James  Fergusson,  Esq.,  D.  C.  L.,  F.  R.  S.,  V.  P.  R.  A.  S.,  etc. 
(London,  1878,  4to,  pp.  xviii  and  304).  Illustrated  by  many  Plans  and  Engravings. 
This  superb  volume  treats  but  incidentally  of  the  Tabernacle,  summarizing  the 
results  previously  arrived  at  by  the  author  in  his  History  of  Architecture,  and  in  his 
article  on  the  Tabernacle  in  Dr.  Wm.  Smith's  Dictionary  of  the  Bible.  As  a  pro- 
fessional architect,  and  a  writer  of  much  scholarly  attainment,  his  views  are  entitled 
to  great  consideration.     They  are  all  ingenious,  some  of  them  well-founded,  but  others 

*  His    mode   of    forming    the    "corner    boards "  I  adjoining  side  boards)  deranges  the  harmony  of  the 
(hinging   them   whole,    by  means    of  rings,   to    the  |  building,  and  makes  a  misfit  of  both  sets  of  curtains. 


8  AUTHORITIES   ON  THE   TABERNACLE. 

preposterous.  The  book  as  a  whole  is  infected  with  an  excessive  leaning  to  subjectiv^e 
opinions  in  favor  of  modern  styles  of  architecture,  wliich  often  disparages  the  ancient 
authorities. 

(11.)  Hani-Mishkan^  the  Wonderful  Tent ;  an  account  of  the  Structure,  Signi- 
ficatlon,  and  Spiritual  Lessons  of  the  Mosaic  Tahernacle  erected,  in  the  WiMerness  of 
Sinai:  by  Eev.  D.  A.  Randall,  D.D.  Illustrated  by  several  plans  and  views  (Cincin- 
nati, 1886,  8vo.  pp.  xlv  and  420).  This  work,  as  the  author  himself  states  in  liis  pref- 
ace, "  is  not  intended  as  a  book  for  scholars  and  critics."  It  is  a  popular  and  pleasing 
presentation  of  the  main  features  of  the  subject,  chiefly  in  the  form  of  a  series  of 
imaginary  dialogues  or  lectures  by  a  learned  and  devout  Rabbi,  whom  the  author 
actually  met  during  a  journey  through  the  Sinaitic  Desert.  No  great  amount  of 
research  or  fresli  information,  of  course,  is  to  be  expected  from  its  scope  and  purpose. 

(12.)  W.  E.  Stephens,  of  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  circulates  "  Christ  in  the  Tabernacle,"  an 
engraving,  reduced  by  photo-lithography  from  a  large  colored  litliograph,  entitled 
"  The  Tabernacle  in  the  Wilderness,"  published  by  W.  F.  Broom,  25  Paternoster 
Square,  London.  It  represents  the  Tabernacle  (in  the  old  style,  with  no  details)  as 
pitched  on  the  plain  of  Mt.  Sinai,  with  the  tents  of  the  tribes  of  Israel  about  it. 

Besides  the  works  enumerated  in  the  above  review,  we  are  aware  of  the  existence  of 
only  the  following  that  bear  directly  upon  the  general  subject ;  and  of  these,  although 
we  have  been  unable  to  procure  a  copy,  we  know  enough  to  be  satisfied  that  they  con- 
tribute notliing  material  to  the  elucidation  of  the  Tabernacle  :  P.  D'Aquine,  Disser- 
tation du  Tabernacle  (Paris,  1623,  4to ;  and  later) ;  J.  J.  Leone,  Afhoeldinge  van  den 
TabernacM  (Amsterdam,  1647,  4to ;  the  original  Spanish,  ibid,  1654,  4to) ;  J. 
Recchiti,  Chohiiath  hain-2£ishhan  [Wisdom  of  the  Tabernacle]  (in  Hel»rew,  Mantua, 
1776,  4to) ;  J.  Kitto,  The  Tabernacle  and  its  Furniture  (London,  1849,  4to) ;  J. 
Popper,  Der  BiUische  Bericht  uler  die  Stiftshutte  (Leipsic,  1862,  8vo) ;  T.  Wan- 
germann.  Die  Bedeutung  d«r  Stiftshutte  (Berlin,  1866,  8vo.) 


CHAPTER    III. 

HISTORY    OF    THE    TABERNACLE. 

I.  It  appears  (Exod.  xxxiii,  7)  that  the  name  "  Tabernacle  of  the  Congregation  "  * 
was  originally  applied  to  an  ordinary  tent,  probably  the  one  officially  occupied  by 
Moses  himself ;  and  that  this  was  at  first  set  apart  by  the  token  of  the  divine  pres- 
ence at  its  door-way  as  the  regular  place  of  public  communication  between  Jehovah 
and  the  people.  (See  Fig.  14.)  This  was  prior  to  the  construction  of  what  was 
afterwards  technically  known  as  the  Tabernacle,  which  of  course  sujDerseded  such  a 
temporary  arrangement. 

II.  Soon  after  the  arrival  of  the  Israelites  in  the  centre  of  the  Sinaitic  mount- 
ains, Moses  was  directed  by  Jehovah  to  prepare  a  special  building  for  his  worship, 
according  to  a  pattern  shown  him  during  his  stay  of  forty  days  on  the  summit  of  the 
mount.  Accordingly  orders  were  immediately  issued  for  contributions  to  this  end, 
the  materials  were  freely  offered  by  the  people,  a  chief  artificer,  "  Bezaleel,  the  son 
of  Uri,  the  son  of  Hur,  of  the  tribe  of  Judah,"  with  "  Aliohab,  the  son  of  Ahisa- 
mach,  of  the  tribe  of  Dan,"  as  his  assistant  (Exod.  xxxi,  2,  6),  was  selected  to  have 
immediate  charge  of  the  task,  and  after  about  eight  months'  labor,  the  Tabernacle, 
with  all  its  equipments,  was  completed  and  erected  on  the  first  day  of  the  first  month 
(Nisan)  of  the  second  year  after  the  departure  from  Egypt  (Exod.  xl,  17).  The 
cloudy  Pillar  of  the  divine  Shekinah  doubtless  indicated  the  precise  spot  of  its  loca- 
tion by  resting  over  the  central  object  of  the  entire  worship,  the  sacred  Ark  beneath 
the  Mercy-seat.  During  the  journeys  and  the  halts  in  the  "Wilderness,  as  well  as 
throughout  the  campaigns  in  Moab,  the  Tabernacle  marked  the  head-quarters  of  the 
Israelitish  host,  and  on  the  arrival  in  Canaan  it  accompanied  Joshua  in  most  of  his 
expeditions  against  their  enemies.  In  all  these  migrations  it  was  taken  down  piece- 
meal, carried  on  vehicles  constructed  for  the  purpose  and  drawn  by  oxen,  in  charge 
of  the  priests  assisted  by  the  Levites,  and  was  re-erected  at  every  stopping-place. 
(See  Plate  III.)  The  position  of  the  several  tribes  of  Israelites  was  regulated  by 
divine  prescription  around  it,  both  on  the  march  and  m  the  encampment,  the  signal 


*  The  Heb.  phrase  here  employed  is  ohel  moed,  lit. 
"  tent  of  meeting,"  which,  however,  is  often  used 
synonymously  with  mishkan  ha-eduth,  lit.  "dwelling 
of  the  assembly,"  to  designate  the  edifice  itself. 
Strictly  speaking,  the  terms  "  tent"  (ohel)  and  "tab- 
ernacle "  (mishkan)  are  found  to  be  carefully  discrimi- 
nated (as  we  shall  eventually  see),  denoting  respect- 
ively the  canvas  roof  and  the  wooden  walls  of  the 
compound  structure;   never  for  both,  except  as  the 


one  implies  the  other;  and  absohitcl}'  never  for 
each  other.  The  expression,  "  tent  of  meeting " 
(often  falsely  rendered  "  tabernacle  "  in  the  A.  V.),  is 
especially  appropriate  from  the  fact  that  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  congregation  of  Israel  were  required 
to  assemble  for  the  divine  commands  at  the  "open- 
ing" (Heb.  pethach,  A.  V.  "door")  of  the  tent;  for 
there  was  no  mishkan  or  wooden  part  at  the  front  of 
the  building. 


10 


HISTORY   OF   THE   TABERNACLE. 


for  starting  or  halting  being  the  motion  or  the  resting  of  the  mute  guide,  the  Pillar 
cloudy  by  day  and  fiery  l)y  night.*  In  the  latter  part  of  Joshua's  administration  it 
was  set  up  at  Shiloh  (Josh,  xviii,  1),  where  it  remained  during  the  troubled  period  of 
the  Judges,  down  to  the  days  of  EIi,t  when  the  sacred  Ark  was  taken  out  of  the 
building  (1  Sam.  iv,  4),  and  never  returned.  It  is  probable  that  the  timber  of 
the  wooden  part  of  the  edifice  (tlie  curtains  of  course  having  been  often  renewed) 
was  by  this  time  so  worn  and  decayed  (although  of  durable  wood  and  thickly 
plated  with  gold)  as  to  be  unservicable,  and  Talmudic  tradition  speaks  of  its  re- 
placement by  a  permanent  stone  structure,  traces  of  which,  it  is  thought,  are  still 
discoverable  on  the  site  of  Shiloh  (Conder,  Tent-worh  in  Palestine,  i,  84).  However 
that  may  be,  there  are  no  further  distinct  indications  of  the  existence  or  locality  of 
the  original  building,  although  evidences  occur  of  the  transfer  of  the  worship,  under 
Samuel's  administration,  successively  to  Mizpeh  (1  Sam.  vii,  6),  and  elsewhere  (1  Sam. 
ix,  12 ;  X,  3 ;  xx,  6 ;  Psa.  cxxxii,  6).  In  David's  day  the  show-bread  was  at  one 
time  kept  at  ISTob  (1  Sam.  xxi,  1-6),  which  implies  the  existence  there  of  at  least  one 
of  the  sacred  utensils  of  the  Tabernacle  ;  especially  as  the  priests  largely  lived  there 
(xxii,  11),  and  some  part  of  their  residence  appears  to  have  served,  in  so  far  at  least, 
the  purpose  of  a  sanctuary  (xxi,  7,  9) ;  and  even  down  to  the  close  of  David's  reign 
the  "  high  place  that  was  at  Gibeon  "  possessed  some  fragments  of  the  original  Tab- 
ernacle, with  its  altar  of  burnt-offering  (1  Chron.  xvi,  39 ;  xxi,  29  ;  comp.  1  Kings 
iii,  4  ;  2  Chron.  i,  3-6).     This  is  absolutely  the  last  mention  of  the  edifice  itself. 

III.  Meanwhile  a  rival  establishment  to  the  one  last  named  had  been  set  up  by 
David  on  Mt.  Zion  at  Jerusalem,  whither  he  had  finally  transported  the  sacred  Ark,;}: 
and  gathered  around  it  the  sacerdotal  ministrations  in  a  new  sanctuary,  especially  con- 
structed for  it,  but  which,  as  it  is  simply  called  a  tent  (1  Chron.  xv,  1 ;  xvi,  1 ;  2  Sam. 
vi,  17,  A.  y.  "tabernacle"),  would  seem  to  have  lacked  the  wooden  walls  of  the 
earlier  one  (2  Sam.  vii,  2 ;  1  Chron.  xvii,  1).  (See  Pig.  14.)  This  of  course  was  in 
turn  superseded  by  the  famous  Temple  not  long  afterwards  erected  l)y  Solomon,  into 
which  was  doubtless  gathered  all  that  remained  of  the  original  furniture  of  the  Mo- 
saic Tabernacle  (2  Chron.  v,  5).  The  Candelabrum,  however,  if  still  extant,  was 
replaced,  in  this  edifice,  by  ten  others,  probably  of  a  more  gorgeous  style  (1  Kings 
vii,  49),  with  at  least  a  repeating  of  the  altar  of  incense  and  the  table  of  show-bread 
(1  Kings  vii,  48).     The  Laver,  having  probably  long  since  been  broken  up,  was  also 


*  As  a  slowly -burning  pyre  (Rxod.  iii,  2)  shows 
white  like  smoke  in  the  daylight,  but  red  like  flame 
at  night.  Occasionally  (Exod.  xiv,  20)  it  was  dark  on 
one  side,  and  bright  on  the  other. 

f  From  the  narrative  in  1  Sam.  iii,  it  would  seem 
tliat  the  original  court  was  replaced  or  at  least  occu- 
pied by  permanent  dwellings  for  the  ministrant 
priests  (see  Keii,  at  tlie  place). 

X  This  central  object  of  tlie  Jewish  worship,  after 
its  seven  months'  adventures  among  the  Philistines 
(1  Sam.  vi,  1)  under  Eli,  had  been  deposited  at  Kirjalli- 


Jearim(lSam.  vii,  1),  where  it  remained  twenty  years 
(ver.  2)  until  Samuel's  establishment  at  Mizpeli 
(ver.  6).  After  its  removal  by  David,  first  from 
Kirjath-jearim  (where  by  some  means  it  had  got  back 
meanwhile  apparently  by  way  of  Bethlehem  [comp. 
Psa.  cxxxii,  6;  1  Sam.  ix,  14]  to  the  house  of  Obed- 
edom,  and  afterwards  to  Jerusalem  (2  Sam.  vi ; 
1  Chron.  xiii — xvi),  we  have  no  record  of  its  leaving 
the  Holy  City,  except  for  a  few  liours  on  the 
breaking  out  of  Absalom's  rebellion  (2  Sam.  xv, 
24-29). 


FORTUNES  OF  THE  FURNITURE.  1 1 

magnificently  replaced  (1  Kings  vii,  23,  27).  On  the  demolition  of  the  Temple  by 
Nebuchadnezzar's  general,  such  pieces  of  the  sacred  furniture  as  had  survived  all 
previous  changes  and  catastrophes  probably  shared  the  fate  of  the  other  valuables 
there,  being  all  carried  away  to  Babylon  (Jer.  lii,  18,  19),  whither  some  articles  of  the 
kind  had  already  preceded  them  (2  Chron.  xxxvi,  7).  There  they  remained  till  the 
downfall  of  that  city  (Dan.  v,  2,  3),  when  the  conqueror  Cyrus  delivered  them  to  the 
Jewish  "prince  of  the  exiles"  (Ezr*  i,  7-11),  and  they  were  among  the  treasures 
soon  afterward  permitted  to  be  transported  to  Jerusalem  (Ezra  v,  14, 15  ;  vii,  19),  where 
they  safely  arrived  under  Ezra's  administration  (Ezra  viii,  33).  They  seem  at  this  time, 
however,  to  have  consisted  exclusively  of  the  smaller  but  very  numerous  "  vessels  "  for 
sacred  uses,  and  no  mention  is  made,  in  any  of  these  later  enumerations,  of  the  Ark  or 
the  more  important  pieces  of  furniture.  Evidences  of  a  tradition  appear  in  nuicli  later 
Hebrew  literature  to  the  effect  that,  on  the  capture  of  Jerusalem,  or  perhaps  rather 
its  final  despoliation,  the  Ark  was  hidden  away  by  Jeremiah,  to  be  restored  only  on 
his  return  with  the  final  dominion  of  Israel ;  but  this  is  doubtless  unfounded.  The 
precious  palladium  of  the  Holy  City  (1  Sam.  iv,  3)  seems  to  have  attracted  the  cupid- 
ity of  some  one  of  the  foreign  or  domestic  marauders  who  at  various  times  violated 
the  sanctity  of  the  shrine  (2  Kings  xii,  18 ;  xviii,  16 ;  2  Chron.  xxv,  24 ;  xxviii,  24) 
down  to  the  period  of  the  Babylonian  invasion  (2  Kings  xxiv,  13).  There  is  distinct 
mention  of  the  Table  of  Show-bread  in  the  reign  of  Hezekiah  (2  Chron.  xxix,  18), 
and  in  that  of  Josiah  allusion  is  perhaps  made  to  the  autograph  copy  of  the  Law 
originally  deposited  in  the  Ark  (2  Chron.  xxxiv,  15),  but  after  this  date  all  direct 
traces  of  any  of  the  sacred  apparatus  constructed  in  the  Desert  v^anish  from  history.* 

*The  few  extra-Biblical  notices  of  the  furniture  of  I  nacle,  will  be  considered  in  treating  of  their  original 
the  Herodian  Temple,   some   p'oces   of  which    may    construction.     (See  Chap,  iv.) 
possibly  have  been  the  same  as  those  of  the  Taber-  | 


CHAPTER   IV. 


STRUCTURE    OF    THE    TABERNACLE. 

In  this,  the  main  portion  of  the  present  volume,  our  aim  will  be  to  explain  as 
succinctly  as  possible  the  various  parts  of  the  sacred  edifice  and  their  adaptation  to 
each  other,  chiefly  from  the  Scripture  record,  accompanied  by  suitable  diagrams, 
without  entering  into  any  unnecessary  controversy  of  the  opinions  of  others  who 
diflier  from  us  as  to  the  proper  mode  of  reconstruction.  Our  chief  jDurpose  through- 
out is  not  simply  to  justify  our  own  delineation,  but  rather  to  aid  the  reader  in  his 
conception  and  apprehension  of  it.  If  it  shall  then  appear  consistent,  it  will  be  its 
own  best  vindication. 

The  sacred  narrative  begins  with  a  prescription  of  the  central  object  of  sanctity, 
the  Ark,  and  proceeds  outward  to  the  less  holy  precincts ;  but,  as  ours  is  a  ^description, 
we  pursue  the  reverse  order,  in  accordance  with  modern  methods.  The  inspired 
writer  develops  his  subject  from  an  interior  point  of  view,  but  common  mortals  can 
only  look  upon  it  from  without. 

I.  The  Court  was  a  space  inclosed  around  the  Tabernacle  itself  in  the  midst  of 
each  camping-ground,  for  the  exclusive  use  of  the  priests  and  Levites  in  their  sacred 
ministrations,  and  was  always  so  arranged  as  to  face  the  East,  The  first  encampment 
on  which  it  was  laid  out  was  of  course  immediately  in  front  or  north  of  Mt.  Sinai  (as 
in  Plate  II),  where  the  fine  plain  of  Er-Kahah  stretches  on  an  average  a  mile  and  a 
half  wide  and  about  three  miles  long — besides  its  continuation,  through  side-valleys, 
to  the  very  foot  of  the  majestic  hills  on  all  sides  towering  about  3,000  feet  sheer 
above  it.  The  central  peak,  directly  opposite,  is  now  called  Ras  Sufsafeh  (  Willow 
Top,  from  a  small  tree  of  that  kind  in  a  cleft  of  its  summit),  and  is  doubtless  the 
very  spot — plainly  visible  in  the  clear  atmosphere  to  the  whole  camp  at  its  base — 
where  the  Law  was  delivered  amid  flashes  of  lightning;  while  the  rear  peak — 
somewhat  higher,  but  hidden  at  this  point  of  view  by  its  forward  fellow — is  still  des- 
ignated as  Jebel  Musa  {Moseses  Mount),  being  no  doubt  that  on  which  the  Hebrew 
lawgiver  held  his  prolonged  interview  with  Jehovah. 

1.  This  outer  (and  only)  court  of  the  Tabernacle  was  100  cubits  long  and  50  wide 
(Exod.  xxvii,  9,  12,  18),  or,  reduced  to  English  measure,*  an  oblong  of  about  172 
by  86  feet     (See  Plate  I.) 


*  We  may  here  state,  once  for  all,  that  our  estimate 
of  the  length  of  the  Hebrew  cubit,  in  this  treatise, 
is  the  same  as  that  finally  adopted  by  the  late  cele- 
brated FJcfvptologist,  Sir  John  Grardner  Wilkinson, 
namely,  20.625  inches  or  1.719  iect  (Ancient  Egypt- 
ians, Harper's  ed.  ii,  258).     This  substantially  agrees 


with   the  following  ancient  specimens  of  the  cubit 
still  extant,  which  the  author  has  personally  exam- 
ined and  measured. 
Nilonietcr  at  Elephantine  (average)... 20. 627  inches. 

Copper  Rule  in  Turin  Museum   20.469      " 

Wooden  Rule  in  Turin  Museum '20.563      " 

Stone  Rule  in  Turin  Museum 20.623      " 


PILLARS  OF  THE  COURT. 


13 


The  area  was  inclosed  by  a  curtain  or  hanging,  of  corresponding  length,  sus- 
pended upon  pillars  5  cubits  high  (Exod.  xxvii,  18).  These  fence-posts,  as  we  would 
call  them,  were  doubtless  of  acacia  ("  shittim,"  sing.  "  shittiih  "),  like  the  other  wooden 
portions  of  the  edifice,  and  probably  round,  as  their  type  in  nature  (a  tree),  and 
economy  of  weight  for  a  given  degree  of  strength,  seem  to  require.  We  may  safely 
estimate  their  diameter  at  one  fourth  of  a  cubit,  or  about  5  inches.  Like  the  other 
columns  of  the  building,  they  appear  to  have  been  of  the  same  size  from  top  to  bot- 
tom. Their  foot  was  held  in  place  by  a  socket  or  plate*  of  copper  (A.Y. incorrectly 
"  brass,"  for  zinc,  which  is  used  in  that  alloy,  was  unknown  to  the  ancients),f  evi- 


The  Turin  copper  cubit-rule  has  evidontl}^  sliruuk 
in  cooling  from  the  mould  in  which  it  was  cast.  The 
wooden  one  may  have  worn  away  somewhat.  The 
stone  one  is  rather  irregular  at  the  edges  of  the  ends. 
The  cubits  marked  on  the  stairway  at  Elephantine 
differ  considerably  from  each  other.  Other  cubit- 
rules  exist  varying,  according  to  published  measure- 
ments, from  20.47  to  20.65  inches.  An  approximation 
to  the  exact  standard  is  all  that  can  now  be  determined. 

The  above  cubit-rules  at  Turin,  together  with  oth- 
ers preserved  in  the  various  museums  of  Europe  and 
elsewhere,  have  been  carefully  delineated  and  ana- 
lyzed by  R.  Lepsius  {Die  alt-dgyptische  Elle  und  ihre 
Einthdlung,  Berlin,  1865,  4to),  who  estimates  tiie  an- 
cient Egyptian  full  cubit,  from  these  specimens  and 
a  comparison  of  the  dimensions  of  the  Pyramids  (pre- 
sumed to  be  in  even  cubits,  as  given  by  ancient  wri- 
ters, and  proportional,  both  outside  and  in),  as  equiv- 
alent to  1  foot  and  8f  inches  English  (p.  5),  or  very 
slightly  in  excess  of  the  conclusion  adopted  by  us. 
(The  paper,  however,  on  which  they  are  printed  has 
shrunk  in  drying  from  the  lithographic  press,  so  that 
they  are  f  of  an  inch  sliorter  than  the  actual  length. 
This  is  confirmed  by  the  fact  that  he  computes  the 
entire  cubit,  on  the  same  plan,  at  525  millimetres, 
i.  8.  20.67  inches.)  That  the  Hebrew  cubit  was  the 
same,  can  hardly  be  questioned.  The  Egyptian  cubit- 
rule  was  divided  into  28  equal  digits  (finger-breadtlis), 
the  first  15  of  which  were  graduated  into  fractional 
parts  (from  the  half  to  the  sixteenth  respectively). 
Four  digits  made  a  palm  (hand-breadth,  exclusive  of 
the  tiumib);  three  palms  made  a  small  span,  or  three 
and  a  half  a  large  span,  four  palms  a  foot,  five  palms 
an  elbow  (from  the  wrist),  six  palms  a  short  (or,  "  mod- 
erate," i.  e.  mediimi-sized  person's)  aibit  (including  the 
length  of  the  palm  only),  and  seven  palms  the  full  (or 
"  royal,"  i.  e.  full-sized  man's)  cubit,  from  the  tip  of  the 
middle  finger  to  the  elbow,  i.  e.  the  entire  lower 
arm.  Thus  eacli  of  the  parts,  as  well  as  the  whole, 
was  determined  by  a  natural  type  (Rev.  xxi,  17). 
Tliese   subdivisions   were    regularly   numbered  from 


right  to  left,  and  most  of  the  surfaces  were  embel- 
lished with  emblematical  and  mythological  hiero- 
glyphics. The  favorite  shape  was  that  of  a  flat  rule 
with  one  edge  beveled,  the  digit  marks  being  incised 
on  most  or  all  of  the  faces,  and  the  fractions  on  the  thin 
edge.  Noneare  jointed,  for  folding.  The  distinction  last 
noted,  namely,  between  the  scant  and  the  normal 
cubit,  seems  to  explain  the  remark  in  Ezek.  xliii,  13, 
"  The  cubit  is  a  cubit  and  an  hand-bieadtii,"  i.  e.  tlie 
full  cubit,  and  not  the  short  one,  is  intended  (so  in 
Ezek.  xl,  5). 

*The  Heb.  word  (ver.  10-18)  is  eden,  "a  base," 
used  also  of  the  similar  underpinning  (as  we  shall 
see)  of  the  Tabernacle  walls,  and  elsewhere  only  of 
the  foundation  of  the  earth  (.Job  xxxviii,  6),  or  tlie 
pedestal  of  a  statue  (Cant,  v,  15).  The  weight  of  the 
superstructure,  or  a  slight  excavation,  would  settle 
these  somewhat  into  the  ground,  and  thus  prevent 
the  foot  of  the  entire  structure  from  sliding.  The 
old-fashioned  idea  (apparently  corrected  under  the 
rendering  "  socket"),  that  they  were  hollow  pointed 
receptacles,  is  an  utterly  impracticable  one:  for  such 
could  not  have  been  driven  accurately  (to  fit  the  ten- 
ons) in  the  hard  gravelly  and  stony  soil  of  the  Des- 
ert, and  the,y  would  soon  have  been  battered  to 
pieces ;  nor  would  they  have  been  of  any  use,  since 
the  tenons  themselves  might  as  well  have  been 
pointed,  and  driven  in  at  once. 

f  The  monuments  show  that  the  ancient  Egyptian.<t 
were  familiar  with  the  processes  of  metallurgy,  and 
the  mines  of  Surabet  el-Khadim,  in  the  desert  of  Sinai, 
are  known,  from  old  papyri,  as  well  as  the  debris  and 
inscriptions  in  the  vicinity,  to  have  been  worked  by 
them  from  a  very  early  period.  It  is  probably  to 
these  operations  tliat  the  book  of  Job  (chap,  xxviii) 
refers,  a  work  which  Moses  himself,  who  doubtless 
often  witnessed  the  miners  during  his  exile  in  Mid- 
ian,  is  believed  to  have  edited.  The  copper  was 
smelted,  no  doubt  on  the  spot,  from  the  malachite 
there  obtained.  There  would,  therefore,  be  no  diffi- 
cully  in  the  Israelites  effecting  these  castings  at  Sinai. 


14 


STRUCTURE  OF  THE  TABERNACLE. 


dently  laid  flat  upon  the  ground,  doubtless  with  a  mortice  or  hole  (probably  square, 
in  order  to  prevent  the  pillar  from  revolving)  in  the  centre,  to  receive  a  correspond- 
ing (copper)  tenon  in  the  end  of  the  pillar.  They  were  stayed  upright  by  cords 
(Exod.  XXXV,  18)  fastened  to  pins  (xxvii,  19)  *  of  copper  driven  into  the  ground, 
which  would  be  necessary  both  on  the  inside  and  on  the  outside ;  while  the  curtains 
with  their  attachments  (especially  the  rods  presently  to  be  considered)  would  keep  the 
tops  at  a  proper  distance  apart,  and  the  corners  would  brace  the  whole  line.  There 
were  60  of  these  pillars  in  all,  namely,  20  on  each  side,  and  10  on  each  end,  with  an 
equal  number  of  sockets  (ver.  10-12).  This  allows  exactly  5  cubits'  space  between 
the  pillars  (from  centre  to  centre),  the  corner-pillars  of  course  being  counted  only 
once  (and  set  half  their  thickness  nearer  the  adjoining  ones),  whether  in  the  side  or 
the  end.f     Accordingly  the  eastern  or  front  end  is  said  to  have  4  such  spaces  in 


*  The  Heb.  word  is  yether,  everywhere  used  of  a 
tent-pill.  It  was  probably  round  and  pointed,  with 
a  head  or  notch  to  keep  the  cord  from  shpping 
oif. 

f  This  disposition  of  tlie  pillars,  which  is  the  mod- 
ern workmanlike  method  in  dealing  with  fence-posts, 
harmonizes  the  numbers  and  dimensions  of  the  sacred 
narrative,  and  meets  all  the  proprieties  in  the  case. 
The  question  raised  as  to  the  mode  of  reckoning  is 
a  mere  dispute  about  words,  which  lias  led  some  to 
make  more  and  some  less  tlian  60  posts,  and  many  to 
assign  fractional  and  even  different  spaces  between 
them.  The  exact  truth  is  that  the  corner  posts  be- 
long one  half  to  the  side  and  one  half  to  the  end  (and 
so  of  the  door-way  posts  and  tlieir  wings),  so  that  the 
language  of  the  sacred  writer  is  strictly  correct.  In 
counting  the  pillars  of  the  respective  sides  of  the 
rectangle  and  those  of  the  door- way,  both  extremes 
are  neither  included  nor  both  excluded,  but  (as  every 
one's  experience  must  have  taught  him  to  do  in  such 
cases)  one  is  included  and  the  other  excluded.  A 
careful  inspection  of  both  accounts  (Exod.  xxvii,  9- 
16;  xxxviii,  9-19)  shows  tliat  the  number  of  the 
pillars  is  never  predicated  of  the  sides  of  the  court, 
but  always  either  of  the  court  itself  or  (usually)  of 
the  ha,ngings ;  and  so  likewise  not  of  the  opening  of 
the  door-way,  but  of  its  screen.  This  Justifies  the 
phraseology,  inasmucli  as  the  curtains,  being  contin- 
uous, would  count  (so  to  speak)  the  spaces  rather 
than  the  pillars  which  they  represented.  Or  perhaps 
we  may  more  clearly  apprehend  the  reason  of  this 
mod"?  of  reckoning,  if  we  bear  in  mind  that  it  was 
prescriptive  and  constructive,  and  not  as  erected ; 
tiie  materials  being  indicated — so  many  pillars  pre- 
pared for  such  a  length  of  curtain,  care  being  taken 
not  to  duplicate  or  omit  anything.  The  execution  of 
tlie  directions  was  left  to  the  common-sense  of  the 
workmen,  and  the  interpreter  has  need  to  exercise 


his  own  in  the  exposition.  We  will  find  a  similar 
enumeration  employed,  for  the  sake  of  uniformity,  in 
the  loops  attached  to  the  exterior  curtains  of  the 
building;  and  Matt,  i,  17,  maybe  cited  as  an  anal- 
ogous case. 

That  the  above  interval  is  the  true  one  is  rendered 
certain  by  the  length  of  the  door-way  curtain,  20  cubits 
for  4  pillars  (xxvii,  16;  xxxviii,  18,  19),  as  well  as  by 
that  of  each  of  the  side-curtains,  15  cubits  for  3  pillars 
(xxvii,  13,  14;  xxxviii,  14,  15),  thus  making  up  the 
entire  end  of  50  cubits  for  10  pillars  (xxvii,  12,  13; 
xxxviii,  12,  13).  The  corner  pillars  of  the  door-way 
are  not  counted  twice,  although  both  the  colored  and 
the  plain  curtains  hung  on  them ;  but,  precisely  as  in 
the  case  of  the  corner  pillars  of  the  court,  where  the 
two  sections  of  curtains  meet,  they  are  accurately  at- 
tributed one  half  to  either  side  of  the  dividing  line  in 
their  middle.  This  is  the  only  way  in  which  the  door- 
way can  be  brought  in  the  centre  of  the  front,  as  it 
evidently  was  meant  to  be.  There  were  clearlj'  10 
spaces  of  5  cubits  each,  from  the  centres  of  the  pillars 
severally.  Any  other  distribution  is  complicated  and 
unnatural.  In  fact,  aside  from  the  question  of  the 
regularity  of  spacing,  the  onlj'-  consistent  and  uniform 
method  of  counting  the  pillars  possible  is  to  include  ui 
each  enumeration  one  of  the  means,  but  not  the  otlier ; 
for  if  both  be  included,  there  will  really  be  but  98 
around  the  whole  court,  since  two  of  the  corners  must 
bo  counted  twice;  or,  if  both  extremes  be  excluded, 
tliere  will  be  104  in  all,  since  the  four  corners  must  be 
left  out  altogether ;  similarly  on  the  front,  if  both 
extremes  be  included  on  the  entire  line,  as  well  as  at 
llie  entrance,  there  will  be  but  8  in  all;  or  if  both  be 
excluded  there  will  be  12.  Paine  arbitrarily  assumes 
that  both  extremes  are  to  be  included  in  the  sides  of 
the  court,  but  excluded  from  the  ends;  yet  lie  is 
compelled  to  include  one  extreme  only  in  the  side- 
curtains  of  the  front  end. 


PILLARS   OF   THE   COURT. 


IS 


the  middle  for  a  door-way  (20  cubits  wide),  and  3  spaces  or  15  cubits  on  either  side  of 
these  (ver.  14—16).  From  the  parallel  passage  (Exod.  xxxviii,  17,  19)  we  learn  that 
all  the  pillars  were  capped  with  silver,  j)robably  a  curved  plate  to  protect  the  top. 
Two  other  parts  or  appendages  to  these  pillars  are  mentioned,  namely,  "hooks"  and 
"fillets,"  both  of  silver  (ver.  10,  12,  17).  The  former  of  these*  obviously  were  to 
serve  the  purpose  of  holding  up  the  other  parts  of  the  screen,  and  the  latter  f  can 
only  be  a  rod,  not  designed  to  sustain  the  curtain  by  means  of  loops  or  rings  in  its 
top  edge,  no  such  contrivances  being  anywhere  mentioned  in  the  text  (as  they  inva- 
riably are  whenever  used) ;  but  intended  to  keep  the  tops  of  the  posts  at  a  proper  dis- 
tance apart,  being  hung  upon  the  hooks,  apparently  by  means  of  eyes  at  each  end 
(these  last  implied  in  the  statement  of  their  corresponding  hooks,  just  as  mortices  in 
the  sockets  are  taken  for  granted  to  fit  the  tenons  of  the  posts  and  planks).  The 
hooks  were  set  one  each  in  the  middle  of  the  round  face  of  the  pillar  a  little  below 
the  cap,  and  probably  another  near  the  bottom.  The  stay-ropes  on  either  side  might 
readily  be  fastened  around  the  top  of  each  pillar  by  a  hitching-noose  in  the  middle, 
which  the  hooks  would  keep  from  slipping  down. 

The  curtains  thus  hung  upon  the  pillars  were  sheets  of  "  fine  twined  linen,"' :{: 


*  Heb.  vav,  the  name  of  the  sixth  letter  of  tlie  al- 
phabet, formed  thus,  \  which  indicates  the  shape  of 
the  hook  or  peg,  being  driven  horizontally  into  the 
pillar.  It  was  probablj''  made  of  wire,  or  at  all  events 
round.  Paine  (for  a  reason  apparent  below)  figures 
the  antique  st3'le  of  the  letter  (adopting  this  form,  V), 
but  this  will  make  little  difference,  for  in  old  inscrip- 
tions it  appears  in  forms  not  essentially'  different 
from  the  above  printed  shape  (for  example  on  tlie 
Moabitic  stone  quite  as  often  thus,  W,  and  in  tlie  very 
earliest  specimen  hitherto  discovered,  namely  tlie 
Siloam  inscription,  exclusively  thus  n,  whicli  is  sub- 
stantially the  same  as  on  old  coins,  thus^). 

■fHeb.  chashuk,  something  "fastened,"  i.  e.,  a  pole; 
used  only  of  this  object,  and  a  word  of  similar  form 
chishshuk,  of  the  spoke  (A.  V.  "felloe")  of  a  wlieel 
(1  Kings  vii,  33).  As  the  rods  of  the  Tabernacle 
door-way  were  overlaid  with  gold  (Exod.  xxxvi,  38), 
and  were  consequently  not  solid  metal,  but  only  a 
wooden  pole  incased  (like  the  bars  of  the  planks  to 
be  presently  considered),  these  silver  rods  were  prob- 
ably constructed  in  a  similar  manner;  and  the  ej'es 
at  their  extremities  for  the  hooks  must  have  been 
driven  into  their  ends.  Paine  inserts  the  hooks  np- 
right  in  the  tops  of  the  pillars,  and  hangs  the  curtains 
upon  the  rods;  but  this  arrangement,  by  drawing 
the  curtains  partlj'  around  the  pillars,  shortens  them 
and  prevents  their  hanging  smooth.  We  sliall  also 
see  that  it  will  not  apply  to  the  description  given  of 
the  inmost  screen,  called  "  the  vail "  by  way  of 
eminence.     Tlie  etymology  of  the  words  is  no  objec- 


tion   to    placing   the  hooks  horizontally,  any 
than  the  knobs. 


Fig.  2.— Pillar,  with  Rods  and  Hooks. 

:J  Heb.  shesh  moshzdr,  lit.  "wliite  twisted "  cloth, 
i.  e.,  bleached  material  of  two-stranded  thread,  doubt- 
less of  flax.  Shesh  seems  to  denote  any  very  while 
substance,  and  is  applied  even  to  marble  (Esth.  i,  6; 
Cant.  V,  15).  The  proper  word  for  linen  is  bad, 
which  as  distinguished  from  shesh  would  be  the  un- 
bleached stuff  of  its  natural  color.  The  fineness  of 
the  thread  is  not  involved  in  either  term. 


16 


8TBUGTUBE  OF  THE  TABERNACLE. 


of  unusual  body  and  brilliancy  (i.  e.  duck),  probably  sewed  endwise  together  so  as  to 
form  a  continuous  screen  from  the  door-way  all  around  the  corners  to  the  door-way 
again.  This  would  most  conveniently  be  hung  on  the  outside  of  tlie  pillars,  and  being 
5  cubits  wide  (Exod.  xxxviii,  18),*  it  would  clear  the  ground,  if  stretched  smooth  by 
eyelets  in  the  upper  and  lower  edges  for  the  hooks.  The  door-way  curtain,  20  cubits 
long,  in  the  middle  of  the  eastern  end,  howev^er,  was  a  different  kind  of  stuff,  "  blue, 
and  purple,  and  scarlet,  and  fine  twined  linen,  wrought  witli  needlework ''  (ver.  16),  i.  e., 
as  we  were  the  first  to  interpret  it,  the  warp  (or  lengthwise  threads)  of  blcaclied  linen 
cord,  and  the  woof  (or  filling)  of  alternate  bars  (running  as  upright  stripes)  of  wool 
dyed  blue-purple  (violet),t  red-purple  (Tyrian),;}:  and  crimson  (cochineal),§  with  hand- 
embroidery  superimposed.il  From  their  mode  of  attachment  it  is  clear  that  none  of 
these  curtains  (not  even  that  of  the  door-way,  which  is  explicitly  stated  to  have  been 


*  From  this  pass<;ige  it  appears  that  all  tiie  curtains 
around  the  court  were  of  tlie  same  height.  The  sin- 
gular expression  there  used,  "  The  height  in  the 
breadth,"  means  that  the  height  was  occasioned  by 
the  width  of  the  cloth,  which  ran  horizontally. 

In  the  arrangement  which  we  have  adopted,  all  the 
rods  (or  rails  we  might  call  them)  for  this  fence  are 
of  the  same  length,  inasmuch  as  they  are  carried 
entirely  across  the  corner-posts,  and  these  latter  are 
set  wholly  within  the  line.  It  is  only  necessary  to 
have  the  single  hook  in  these  posts  (at  the  extreme 
nngle  of  course)  not  driven  in  so  far  into  the  post, 
i.  e.,  projecting  farther  from  its  face. 

f  Heb  tekelcih,  the  helix  ianthina,  a  very  thin,  flat 
and  coiled,  round  shell,  found  on  the  Mediterranean, 
the  envelope  of  a  colorless,  jelly-like  animal,  which 
when  crushed  or  punctured  emits  a  beautiful  violet 
liquid. 

\  Heb.  argamdn,  the  murex  hrandaris,  a  large  spiral 
shell,  found  in  the  Mediterranean,  a  particular  part 
of  tlie  animal  inhabiting  which  contains  a  creamy 
fluid,  that  turns  a  brilliant  purple  after  exposure  to 
the  air. 

§  Heb.  shani,  often  with  the  addition  of  tolaath,  a 
worm  or  grub ;  the  coccus  ilicis,  a  parasite  on  the  Tyr- 
ian  oak,  tlie  wingless  female  of  which  furnishes  the 
kermes  of  commerce,  and  yields  a  rich  red  color,  verj^ 
closely  resembling  that  of  the  coccus  cacti  or  true 
cochineal  (which  came  from  Mexico),  being  somewhat 
less  brilliant  but  more  permanent. 

II  It  should  be  noticed  tha*  in  neitlier  case  is  the 
substance,  of  which  these  two  parts  of  the  fabric 
was  composed,  explicitly  mentioned.  (Compare  the 
enumeration  of  tlie  same  materials  first  in  chap. 
XXV,  4.)  That  it  was  first  woven  in  a  loom,  and  af- 
terwards worked  with  a  needle,  is  obvious.  Besides 
tliis  the  different  colors  only  are  named.  The 
'■  bleached  "  was  the  basis,  that  is,  the  warp,  as  being 


the  stronger,  and  for  this  purpose  "  double-twisted." 
That  it  was  linen  is  to  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that 
it  was  bleached.  On  the  other  liand  wool  only  will 
take  rich  colors  well,  especially  animal  dyes  (the  two 
purples  are  from  shell-fish,  and  the  bright-red  from 
an  insect).  The  cross  bands  of  these  three  shades  of 
red  (as  we  may  style  them)  would  be  softened  by  the 
admixture  of  the  white  foundation.  On  these  the 
embroidering  was  performed,  as  the  contrast  would 
thus  be  very  effective.  The  color  of  the  embroidery 
would,  we  presume,  be  yellow,  of  silk  thread,  we 
suppose  (as  gold  is  not  mentioned  here),  apparently 
on  the  "  right  "  or  outer  side  only.  The  figures  do 
not  seem  to  have  been  cherubim,  as  tliese  are  men- 
tioned in  connection  with  the  inner  tapestry  onl}', 
where  thej'  would  be  more  appropriate.  We  are  for- 
bidden by  the  second  commandment  (although  not 
yet  promulgated)  to  think  of  any  actual  object, 
and  must  therefore  conjecture  that  the  needlework 
consisted  of  purely  fancy  patterns,  such  as  abound 
in  Oriental  tapestries,  ceilings  and  rugs — perhaps 
what  is  known  as  "  mosaic."  The  order  of  the  col- 
ors, as  systematically  named,  leads  us  to  conceive  that 
the  violet  stripe  was  first,  the  purple  in  the  middle  and 
tlie  crimson  last,  tlie  white  underneath  and  the  yellow 
over  the  whole.  The  three  primary  colors  (blue,  red 
and  j'ellow)  are  thus  represented,  but  not  in  their 
prismatic  order.  The  symbolism  is  of  a  less  scientific 
nature,  as  we  shall  eveutuallj^  see.  The  rain-bow  has 
its  own  symbolism  (Gen.  ix,  12-16),  but  it  is  entirely 
cosniical.  Josephus  suggests  {Antiquities,  III,  vii,  2) 
that  the  linen  was  the  warp,  but  he  says  nothing  about 
the  woof,  nor  the  order  of  the  colors;  he  seems  to 
have  thought  these  were  only  used  for  the  embroid- 
ery: "It  [the  high-priest's  robe]  is  embroidered  with 
flowers  of  scarlet,  and  purple,  and  blue  [reversing  the 
colors],  and  fine-twined  linen ;  but  the  warp  was 
nothing  but  flue  linen  "  (Wiiiston'a  translation). 


ALTAR  OF  BURNT-OFFERING. 


17 


•A  single  piece)  were  intended  to  be  parted  or  to  slide  for  admission ;  entrance  could 
tiierefore  only  be  effected  by  lifting  them  at  the  bottom  and  passing  under  them  (as 
they  were  5  cubits,  or  more  than  S|-  feet,  high),  and  this  moreover  was  not  possible 
with  any  degree  of  facility  (on  account  of  the  tightness  of  the  long  lines)  except  at 
the  door-way,  wliere  the  break  in  the  continuity  of  the  curtain  and  its  comparative 
shortness  allowed  it  to  be  easily  raised,  especially  at  the  (lower)  corners. 

2.  Within  this  limited  but  sufficiently  capacious  area,  besides  the  principal  object, 
the  Tabernacle  itself,  there  were  only  two  otliers  normally  belonging  to  it,  namely, 
the  "  Brazen  Altar,"  and  the  Laver. 

(1.)  Tlie  former  of  these,  often  styled  the  Great  Altar  (in  later  literature),  or 
more  appropriately  the  Altar  of  Burnt-offering,  to  distinguish  it  from  the  smaller 
Altar   of  Incense,  was  made  strong  and  light  for  convenient  transportation,  thu8 


Fig.  3. — Altar  of  Burnt-oifering,  with  the  Grate  drawn  out. 

superseding  all  former  structures  of  the  kind,  but  not  exclusive  of  still  larger 
earthen  or  stone  altars,  as  in  subsequent  times  (Exod.  xx,  24,  25).  The  one  under 
consideration  was  a  hollow  box*  of  acacia  (shittim  wood),  5  cubits  square,  and 
3  cubits  high  (Exod.  xxvii,  1,  8),  cased  all  over  its  surface  with  sheets  of  cop- 
])er  (ver,  2).  It  had  a  "  horn "  (i.  e.  an  upright,  tapering  projection)  at  each  cor- 
ner, apparently  formed  by  a  triangular  extension  of  the  sides  at  their  junction 
(ver,  2).  This  was  an  ornamental  and  significant,  rather  than  a  strictly  needful 
appendage.  An  essential  addition  was  the  grate,  f  consisting  of  a  copper  net-work,  \ 
movable  by  a  copper  ring  in  each  corner  (ver.  4),  and  placed  below  the  top  of  the 


*  ■'  Hollow  with  boards  "  (xxvii,  8  ;  xxxviii,  7),  Heb. 
nehiib  luchoth  (lit.  "a  hollow  [bored  through,  like  a 
tubular  column,  Jer.  Hi,  21]  of  slabs  [a  different 
word  from  that  used  for  the  planks  of  the  Tabernacle 
walls])."  Their  thickness  was  no  doubt  some  defi- 
nite proportion  of  a  cubit,  as  we  shall  find  all  the 
dimensions  about  the  structure  to  be  (since,  as  Paine 
justly  remarks,  "  A  carpenter  always  works  by  his 
2 


rule-measure  ");  in  this  case  probably,  one-eighth,  ot 
about  2J  inches — not  too  prreat  for  so  large  a  box, 
and  one  exposed  to  much  hard  service. 

f  Heb.  mikbdr,  lit.  "plaiting,"  used  onlj'  of  thia 
contrivance  ;  but  a  kindred  term,  makher,  is  once  ap- 
plied  to  a  coarse  doth  (2  Kings  viii,  15). 

\  Heb.  resheth,  a  term  constantlj-  applied  to  a  net 
for  catching  animals. 


18 


8TBUCTURE  OF  THI^  TABERNACLE. 


altar,  lialf-way  clown  the  inside  (ver.  5).  It  thus  appears  that  there  was  no  cover  to 
the  altar  at  all,  and  probably  no  bottom,  but  only  the  grating,  evidently  for  the  fire, 
across  it  at  the  middle  ;  and  this  latter  was  supported  by  sliding  through  slits  in  the 
opposite  sides  of  the  altar,  the  rings  projecting  outside.*  Through  these  rings  were 
passed  the  copper-cased  side-poles  used  for  carrying  the  whole  on  the  march  like  a 
hand-barrow  (ver.  6,  7 ;  comp.  xxxviii,  5-7),  while  the  grate  was  held  fast  by  the 
rings  and  staves.  The  entire  surface  of  the  altar  was  therefore  sheeted  with  copper 
inside  and  out,  including  the  horns,  so  that  the  heat  could  not  affect  it ;  and  the 
priests  standing  about  it  could  conveniently  manage  the  sacrificial  fire,  sliding  the 
grate  far  enough  out  to  take  up  the  ashes  that  fell  through  it.  The  flame  would  be 
concentrated  by  being  confined  within  the  upper  part  of  the  altar-box,  and  sufiicient 
air  to  keep  up  a  draught  would  enter  by  the  crevices  around  the  grate,  especially 
those  left  to  allow  the  rings  to  pass  through,  or  additional  holes  might  be  made  for 
that  purpose,  if  found  to  be  necessary,  f  There  was  no  occasion  for  steps  or  an  in- 
clined plane  to  reach  it.:}:     (See  Plate  V,  A.) 

The  utensils  named  (ver.  3)  in  connection  with  the  Altar,  all  of  copper,  are 
"  pans  to  receive  [i.  e.  remove]  the  [greasy]  ashes  of  the  sacrifices,"!  shovels  (for  tak- 
ing them  up),  basins  (for  holding  the  blood  of  victims,  with  which  the  horns  of  the 
altar  were  smeared),  flesh-hooks  (for  handling  the  roasting  sacrifices,  and  managing 
the  fire),  and  fire-pans  (for  carrying  coals  for  incense  or  other  purposes).! 

The  Great  Altar  probably  stood  in  the  centre  of  the  open  space  of  the  court, 


*  This  is  the  arrangement  of  Paine  in  the  last  edi- 
tion of  his  work,  and  entirely  obviates  the  serious 
objections  against  all  previous  interpretations  and 
conjectures.  The  Heb.  word  rendered  "  compass"  is 
karkob,  an  obscure  one,  used  only  of  this  particular 
object,  and  designates  the  upper  margin  of  the  altar 
(wliich,  as  we  shall  see,  was  entirely  different  from 
that  of  the  Altar  of  Incense).  The  word  rendered 
"midst"  is  \\t.h(ilf,  as  often  elsewhere.  Since  the 
rings  were  cast  (like  those  of  all  the  other  pieces  that 
were  similarlj'  furnislied — for  this  is  expressly  stated 
of  all  except  the  Incense-altar  [and  the  wall-planks], 
and  "  made  "  is  there  equivalent  to  "  cast,"  as  appears 
from  a  comparison  in  tlie  other  cases)  and  therefore 
solid,  they  must  have  been  attached  to  the  grate 
(which  was  likewise  cast)  by  means  of  staples  upon 
its  face  (as  the  Heb.  invariably  has  it,  in  this  as  well 
as  all  the  other  cases). 

f  As  the  altar  stood  in  the  open  court,  and  the 
fuel  was  above  the  centre  of  the  broad  fire-box,  an 
ample  supply  of  air  would  come  iu  over  the  sides  for 
ordinary  purposes  of  combustion  ;  and  for  the  greater 
part  of  the  day,  and  during  the  whole  night,  tlie  fire 
was  to  be  merely  kept  smoldering  alive.  On  extraor- 
dinarj'  occasions,  the  current  would  naturally  be  in- 
creased by  excavating  openings  under  the  sides,  and 


these  could  conveniently  be  closed  by  a  stone  at 
pleasure.  A  mound  of  earth  might  be  raised  on 
either  side  for  ascending  to  the  top  whenever  nec- 
essary. 

^This  altar  was  doubtless  set  directly  upon  the 
ground,  and  so  miglit  not  inappropriately  be  called 
"an  altar  of  earth"  (Exod.  xx,  24).  The  gold-plated 
pieces  of  furniture  indoor  were  probably  (as  Paine 
suggests)  placed  upon  fur  rugs  spread  upon  the 
ground.  These  skins  were  no  doubt  tlie  same,  or 
at  least  of  the  same  character,  as  those  that  (as  we 
shall  eventually  see)  were  used  to  cover  up  the  sacred 
furniture  on  the  march. 

§Heb.  dashshen,  a  special  word  for  these  fatt_v 
ashes. 

I  From  the  fact  (Num.  xvi,  38,  39)  that  similar  ves- 
sels to  these  last  (Heb.  machtoth,  receptacles  for  fire, 
A.  V.  "  censers  ")  on  one  occasion  (apparently  not 
very  long  after  the  removal  from  Sinai)  were  readily 
used  as  additional  plates  for  the  Altar  of  Burnt-offer- 
ing (probably  on  the  edges  of  the  fire-pot,  where  the 
wear  would  soonest  tell),  it  would  seem  that  these 
were  simply  square  copper  sheets  folded  at  the  cor- 
ners (in  gores  like  modern  sheet-iron  pans),  and  fur- 
nished witli  a  plain  Imndle  (doubtless  of  the  same, 
merely  riveted  on). 


THE  LAYER. 


19 


about  half-way  between  the  entrance  and  the  Tabernacle  itself,*  (where  it  would 
be  convenient  of  access  to  all  worshippers,  and  leave  room  enough  for  the  sacrifices). 
Upon  it  was  maintained  a  perj^etual  fire  of  selected  wood,  except  of  course  while  on 
the  march. f 

(2.)  Midway  of  this  latter  interval  (Exod.  xxx,  18),  still  in  the  medial  line,  stood  the 
other  conspicuous  piece  of  apparatus  for  the  service,  namely,  the  Laver,  which  would 
there  be  immediately  at  hand  for  the  priests  to  bathe  X  before  entering  the  Sanctuary, 
or  approaching  the  Altar  (ver.  19-21).  It  consisted  of  two  parts,  the  Laver  proper,  § 
and  its  Foot  ||  or  pedestal.  Neither  the  form  nor  the  size  is  given.^  Both  parts  were 
obviously  round,  as  the  vessel  was  in  fact  merely  a  bowl  with  a  base  connected  by  a 
tapering  neck,  like  a  flat  goblet.  That  it  was  shallow,  and  raised  but  little  from  the 
ground,  may  be  inferred  from  its  use,  which  was  to  wash  the  feet  as  well  as  the 
hands ;  and  that  it  was  comparatively  small  may  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that  it  was 
not  intended  for  washing  the  entire  person  (ver.  19,  21).  It  was  probably  about  two 
cubits  in  diameter,  and  one  and  a  half  cubits  high.  Like  all  the  utensils  of  the  court, 
it  was  of  copper,  but  in  this  case  apparently  somewhat  alloyed ;  for  it  was  a  casting 
made  of  the  metallic  mirrors  contributed  by  the  female  members  of  the  congregation 
("cxxviii,  8),  such  as  the  Egyptian  ladies  are  known  to  have  used.**  (See  Plate  V,  D.) 

IL  The  Sanctuary  or  sacred  fabric  itself  was  situated  at  the  front  edge  of  the 


*  Exod.  xl,  29  is  uot  determiuative  of  the  exact 
spot. 

fTlie  Arabs  who  conduct  travellers  through  the 
Desert  of  Sinai  always  keep  up  a  fire  during  the 
night  with  the  drift-wood  or  brush  which  the  winter 
rains  bring  down  from  the  sides  of  the  mountains. 
This  is  partly  for  companj'^  and  partly  for  a  sense  of 
protection  against  surprise.  The  monkish  local 
guides  who  escort  tourists  over  the  summit  of 
Sinai  are  in  the  habit  of  touching  a  match  to  any 
dry  shrub  that  they  meet  on  the  way ;  which  seems 
a  sort  of  reminiscence  of  the  burning  bramble  that 
Moses  saw.  But  the  wild-sage  bushes,  with  which 
the  plain  and  hill-sides  are  dotted,  arc  unmolested, 
although  they  stand  quite  dry,  but  still  perfectly  re- 
taining their  green  color  to  the  middle  of  March. 

:|:  Heb.  rachats,  used  of  laving  either  the  whole 
body,  or  any  part. 

§  Heb.  kiyor,  a  cooking  dish,  used  generally  of  a 
pot,  basin  or  pan. 

I  Heb.  ken,  lit.  a  "stand"  or  support,  evidently  an 
expansion  of  the  shaft,  probably  with  a  turned-up 
rim  so  as  to  catch  the  drip  from  a  faucet  in  the  upper 
reservoir;  for  Orientals  wash  the  hands  by  pouring 
M^ater  upon  them  from  a  ewer,  and  uot  by  plunging 
them  into  a  basin,  which  would  defile  the  whole. 

^Something,  however,  may  be  deduced  from  the 
etymology  of  the  Heb.  term,  and  its  US'"  in  other  pas- 
sages.    It  is  derived  from  a  root  that  seems  prima- 


rily to  mean  excavation  by  hammering,  and  this  would 
naturally  yield  a  semi-globular  hollow,  which  form  is 
coutirmed  by  the  convenience  for  a  lavator^v,  like  a 
wash  bowl  or  basin,  and  b}'  the  similar  shape  of  the 
molten  sea  and  the  smaller  lavers,  which  took  its 
place  in  the  Temple  (1  Kings  vii,  30,  38,  40.  43; 
2  Kings  xvi,  17  ;  2  Chron.  iv,  6,  14),  Hnd  which  are 
denoted  by  the  same  word.  It  is  elsewhere  iipf)lied 
to  a  chafing-dish  for  live  coals  (Zech.  xii.  6),  and  to  a 
platform  or  rostrum  (2  Chron.  vi,  13),  which,  altliongh 
probably  covered  (as  the  other  utensils  seem  not  to 
have  been),  doubtless  had  the  same  urn-like  form,  and 
could  not  have  been  high,  since  no  steps  are  spoken  of 
in  connection  with  it.  In  1  Sam.  ii,  14,  it  is  named  first 
of  four  kinds  of  receptacles  for  boiling  Hesh,  which 
seem  to  be  enumerated  in  the  order  of  their  size,  but 
could  not  have  differed  very  much  in  their  shape; 
namely,  kiyor  (prob.  a  caldron,  A.  X.  "  p.nn  "  here), 
diid  (a  large  pot  [lit.  boilei-].  Job.  xli,  20  ;  Psa.  Ixxxi,  6 ; 
"kettle,"  here,  "caldron,"  2  Chron.  xxxv,  13;  also  a 
^^basket,"  2  Kings  x,  7  ;  Jer.  xxiv,  2),  kalldchath  (from  a 
word  that  seems  to  indicate  pouring;  a  kettle,  A.  V. 
"caldron,"  here  and  in  Mic.  iii,  3).  and  par ilr  (from 
a  root  s\e:n\ficiint  of  hollowing  by  fracture.  »  dbcp  pan, 
as  rendered  in  Num.  xi,  8;  "pot"  here  and  in 
Judg.  vi.,  19). 

**  Wilkinson  (Ancient  Egt/ptiaws,  ii,  345-7).  These 
specula  were  of  various  metals,  usually  mixed,  but 
not  always  nor  properly  bronze. 


20 


STRUCTURE  OF  THE  TABERNACLE. 


rear  half  of  the  entire  inclosure,  probably  leaving  equal  spaces  on  either  side  and 
behind  between  its  walls  and  those  of  the  Court.  It  consisted  of  two  portions,  called 
respectively  the  Holy  and  the  Most  Holy  places,  the  former  occupying  the  forward 
room,  and  the  latter  one  half  the  size  in  depth  behind  it  (as  will  eventually  appear). 


Flo.  4.— Wooden  Walls  of  the  Tabenmcle. 


WOODEN   WALLS. 


21 


As  both  tliese  were  of  tlie  same  width  and  general  construction,  we  may  most  con- 
veniently consider  them  together  in  point  of  architectnre,  and  afterwards  discuss  tlieir 
special  features  separately.     (See  Plate  IV.) 

1.  The  walls  (which  distinctively  composed  the  rnlskhdn  or  "Tabernacle")  were 
of  a  character,  like  all  other  parts  of  the  edifice  (if  so  we  may  term  this  migratory 
temple),  to  be  easily  taken  down  and  re-erected  whenever  the  divine  signal  should  be 
given  to  tliat  effect.     (See  Fig.  4.) 

(1.)  They  essentially  consisted  of  planks  or  "  boards  "  *  of  the  acacia  or  shittim 
wood"t  before  mentioned,  each  10  cubits  long,  and  1^  cubits  broad  (xxvi,  US). 
Their  entire  surface  was  plated  with  sheets  of  gold.  Twenty  of  these  formed  each 
side- wall  (vers,  18,  20),  held  in  a  perpendicular  position  (ver,  15)  by  means  to  be 
described  presently,  each  plank  having  two  tenons  X  in  the  foot  to  attach  it  securely 
to  the  ground  as  in  a  sill.  The  rear  planks  were  8  in  all  (ver.  25),  of  which  6 
were  like  the  foregoing  (ver.  22),  and  2  of  peculiar  construction  for  the  corners  (ver. 
23).     To  form  each  of  these  last,  a  plank  exactly  similar  to  all  the  rest  was  divided 


*  Heb.  sing,  keresh,  as  being  hewn  out :  used  only 
of  these  planks  and  of  the  deck  of  a  vessel  ("  beuclies," 
Ezek.  xxvii,  6).  They  were  in  fact  almost  logs,  like 
Hoor-timbers.  The  "  boards  "  of  xxvii,  8  are  a  differ- 
ent word  in  the  original,  being  that  usually  rendered 
"  table,"  when  this  means  merely  a  plate  or  slab. 


but  in  the  cognate  languages  is  applied  to  the  rounds 
of  a  ladder,  and  seems  to  mean  regularly  occurring, 
i.  e.,  at  equal  intervals  (for  this  is  the  most  essential 
feature  of  ladder  rounds);  and  thus  we  have  arranged 
them,  except  those  ol'  the  corner-plank,  which  are  like- 
wise  two,  but   necessarily  iu   a  souiewhat  diiierent 


Fig.  5. — Comparison  of  the  Tenons  and  Mortices  of  the  Wall-planks  with  the  Rounds  of  a  Ladder. 


f  The  (Arabio)  seyal,  common  in  the  Sinaitic  desert, 
a  thorny  tree  of  moderate  size,  with  firm  and  durable 
wood,  closely  resembling  our  yellow  locust.  The 
i)ark  is  smooth,  and  that  of  the  limbs  yellow,  like 
the  ailanthus.     (See  Fig.  39.) 

X  Heb.  sing,  yad,  a  "  hand,"  as  often  elsewhere  ren- 
dered. The  analogy  of  tlie  other  curtain  posts  leads 
us  to  conclude  that  they  were  of  solid  metal  (therefore 
small)  like  that  of  the  sockets,  i.  e.  in  the  present  case 
silver.  These  tenons  are  said  to  be  "  set  in  order," 
Heb.  mef:huUnb,  a  word  that  occurs  nowhere  else  in 
Heb.  (except  in  shnldh,  a  "ledge,"   1  Kings  vii.  28,  29), 


position.  Tn  the  parallel  passage  (xxxvi,  22)  it  is  ren- 
dered "equally  distant,"  and  this  is  confirmed  by  a  coin- 
cidence which  can  hardly  be  accidental.  If  these  tenons 
(and  the  corresponding  mortices)  were  equi-distant, 
they  would  he  f  of  a  cubit  apart  (from  centre  to 
centre)  or  about  1.")^  inches,  which  actually  is  the 
most  convenient  and  customary  space  between  the 
rounds  of  a  ladder.  This  correspondence  to  tlie  natural 
type  is  illustrated  by  the  annexed  diagram.  (Sec 
Fig.  5.)  The  tenons  were  probably  square,  so  as  to 
keep  the  sockets  from  revolving  out  of  line,  and  of 
silver,  so  as  to  match  tlie  sockets. 


22 


STRUCTURE  OF  THE  TABERNACLE. 


throughout  its  length  into  two  parts,  one  of  them  two-thirds  of  a  culjit  wide,  and  the 
other  the  remaining  five-sixths  of  a  cubit  wide  ;  these  parts  were  tlien  joined 'together 

at  right  angles  by  the  edges,  so  as  to 
form  a  "  corner-board,"  externally  f 
of  a  cubit  on  each  side  (one  way  that 
width  already,  the  other  |  plus  |,  be- 
cause including  the  thickness  of  the 
associate  plank),  and  internally  §  of  a 
cubit  each  way  (one  side  being  that 
width  of  itself,  and  the  other  |  minus 
J,  as  excluding  the  thickness  of  the 
attached  plank).*  These  corner- 
planks,  being  applied  flush  to  the 
other  rear-planks,  but  extending 
around  the  corner  over  the  rear  edge 
and  part  of  the  breadth  of  the  last 
side-plank,  completely  fulfill  the  con- 
ditions of  the  case,  and  yield  a  satis- 
factory solution  of  several  otherwise 
inexplicable  problems.  («.)  The  thick- 
ness of  the  planks  themselves  is 
proved  (l)y  the  above  calculation)  to 
have  been  |  of  a  cubit,  which  agrees 
with  the  statement  (apparently  from 
tradition  or  conjecture)  of  Josephus 
("  four  finger-breadths,"  Antiq.  Ill,  vi,  3).  {h.)  The  requisite  (interior)  dimensions 
of  the  two  apartments  (Holy  and  Most  Holy  places)  are  secured.  The  proportional 
decimal  character  of  all  the  measurements  in  the  Court  and  its  structures,  and 
especially  of  the  Sanctuary  itself,  and  indeed  the  correspondence  Avith  these  portions 
in  the  subsecpient  Temple  (which  were  doubles  of  them,  1  Kings  vi,  2),  point  clearly 
to  the  conclusion  that  the  width  of  the  building  (inside)  was  one-third  its  length  ;  so 
that  the  Most  Holy  place  was  exactly  square,  and  the  Holy  place  just  twice  as  long 
as  it  was  broad.  The  six  full  planks  of  the  rear  of  the  Holy  of  Holies  (6x1^  =  9), 
added  to  that  part  of  the  split  plank  at  each  corner  not  taken  up  in  covering  the  edge 
of  the  last  side-plank  (2  x  [| — i  =  ^]  =  1),  make  exactly  the  10  cubits  called  for.f 


Fig.  6. 


-Corner-plank  of   lie  Taliern  icle.     (N.  W.  angle.) 

a.  Sepaiate.    b.  CuuiuiiieJ. 


♦Tliia  joint/no:  of  tlie  corner-planka  is  siiprrrested  by 
Keil  and  adopted  by  Brown,  but  is  yet  of  little  avail 
witli  them,  in  consequence  of  tlie  excessive  thickness 
assigned  by  them  to  the  planks  themselves,  although 
the  latter  writer  makes  the  corner  lap  over  the  side. 
So  near  have  some  plans  come  to  the  correct  solution 
of  this  part  of  the  problem,  without  effectually  ac- 
complishinsr  it  at  last. 

•)•  It  is  noteworthy  that  the  dimensions  of  the  Tab- 


e'nacle  itself  arn  nowhere  e.'splicitly  piven,  but  are 
left  to  be  inferred  from  a  combination  of  the  details ; 
because,  as  we  opine,  there  would  be  uncertainty  as 
to  whether  the  internal  or  the  external  size  were 
meant.  Accordiuo^ly  measurements  are  detinitoly 
given  with  regard  to  the  Court,  the  Ark.  the  Table, 
and  the  two  Altars  because  there  could  be  no  doubt 
on  this  point  concerning  them.  This  shows  the 
minute  carefulness  of  the  sacred  description. 


CORNER  PLANKS. 


23 


Moreover,  in  tliis  way  tlie  corner-joint  is  neatly  closed,  which  would  other- 
wise show  on  the  side,  instead  of  the  end  of  the  rectangle,  as  usual  with  joiners ; 
and  the  whole  angle  would  also  be  greatly  strengthened  as  well  as  ornamented 
by  the  overlapping  on  the  longer  side.  (<?.)  This  clears  up  the  obscure  phrase- 
ology employed  (ver.  24)  concerning  these  corner-planks,  "And  they  shall  be 
coupled  together  beneath  [lit.  And  they  shall  become  twinned  from  as  to  down- 
ward], and  they  shall  be  coupled  together  above  the  head  of  it  unto  one  ring  [lit. 
and  together  they  shall  become  whole  upon  its  (the  compound  plank's)  head 
toward  the  one  (or  first)  ring]  ; "  which  plainly  means  that  the  two  half-planks  were 
.,  to  be  jointed  together  from  bottom  to  top,  and  were  likewise 

fastened  by  the  same  endmost  ring  (namely,  that  of  the  rear 
side-plank).  By  inspecting  the  annexed  diagram  (Fig.  6),  it  will 
be  seen  how  exactly  true  this  last  peculiarity  was ;  for  the  first 
bar-ring  of  the  side-planks  at  the  corner  must  have  passed 
entirely  through  the  overlap  of  the  rear  plank,  and  the  ring 
(when  the  bar  was  passed  through  it)  would  hold  the  corner 
firmly  together.  This  was  a  very  important  fact  (especially  at 
the  top)  in  a  structure  destitute  of  a  frame-work.* 

(2.)  In  order  to  receive  the  tenons  in  the  ends  of  the  planks, 
sockets  of  solid  silver  were  laid  upon  the  ground  (corresponding 
to  those  of  copper  for  the  Court),  two  for  each  plank  (xxvi,  19). 
As  each  socket  weighed  one  talent  (xxxviii,  27),  Paine  has 
ingeniously  calculated  their  size  as  being  half  a  cubit  square,  and 
1^  of  a  cubit  thick.f     Presuming  that  the  mortice-holes  (probably  -^  cul)it,  or  about 


Fig.  7.— Socket   of  the 
Tabeniiicle. 

a.  Top.    6.  Edge. 


*  III  tlie  adjustment  wliich  we  have  adopted  it  will 
be  seen  that  the  planks  are  lield  together  laterally 
(so  as  not  to  be  parted  by  the  strain  of  the  end  stays) 
by  the  roof-canvas,  which  is  buttoned  down  close  on 
the  knobs  all  around  the  three  sides  (and  across  tlie 
front  likewise) ;  but  at  the  rear  corners  (which  are 
held  together  by  this  arrangement  of  the  corner- 
planks)  this  security  is  unnecessary,  and  therefore 
(on  account  of  the  slit  or  notch  in  the  selvedge  at 
that  point,  as  we  shall  eventually  see)  it  is  there  dis- 
pensed with. 

f  We  arrive  at  the  same  result  by  a  different  calcu- 
lation. Each  socket,  if  solid,  would  contain  -^^^  of  a 
cubic  cubit  (1  X  ^  X  ^),  or  365.6  cubic  inches  (4x  X 
[20.625  =  201]  »).  But  from  tliis  must  be  deducted 
the  mortice  (  [jV  X  yV  X  ^J  X  [20f]  ^),  or  5.6  cubic 
inches,  leaving  exactly  360  cubic  inches  of  .silver  for 
the  socket.  Now,  as  a  cubic  inch  of  silver  weighs 
2,652.8  grains  (at  62°  F.),  the  .^socket  would  weigh 
955,008  grains.  Again,  as  there  are  3,000  shekels  in 
a  talent,  and  a  shekel  weighed  about  280  grains 
(original  standard),  tlie  talent  or  socket  would  weigh 
about  840,000  grains;  which  sufficiently  agrees  with 


the  former  product,  especially  as  some  alloy  (0.138 
parts  of  copper)  was  probably  added  to  harden  the 
metal.  We  note  that  the  estimate  of  280  grains  to 
the  shekel  is  exactly  that  of  the  Assyrian  standard 
(Madden,  Jennsh  Coinage,  p.  264,  note).  This  subject 
has  been  greatly  confused  by  writers  not  observing 
that  the  shekel  was  (eventually)  a  coin  as  well  as  a 
weight,  and  that  its  value  therefore  greatly  varied  in 
tlie  different  metals  (gold,  silver,  and  copper)  used  for 
money,  as  well  as  in  different  periods.  The  ancient 
specimens  that  exist  have  also  been  worn  by  circula- 
tion. Tlie  earliest  Jewish  shekels  extant  are  of  the 
age  of  tlie  Maccabees,  and  were  struck  on  the  debased 
Phoenician  standard  of  220  grains  to  the  (silver)  shekel, 
equivalent  to  the  Greek  tetradrachm,  which  was  itself 
originally  much  higlier,  and  was  lowered  in  the 
Ptolemaic  period  to  260  grain.s.  The  ancient  native 
Egyptian  metrology  was  related  to  the  Hebrew  in 
measures  but  not  in  weights.  The  silver  shekels  of 
Maccabtean  date  in  the  British  Museum  at  London,  as 
we  have  ascertained  by  personal  inquiry,  weigh  sev- 
erally 220.  216.5,  215,  213.2  and  213  grains,  accord- 
ing to  the  degree  of  wear ;  there  is  also  a  half-shekel 


24 


STRUCTURE  OF  THE  TABERNACLE. 


1\  inch,  square)  were  in  the  middle  of  the  sockets,  and  the  (centre  of  tlie)  tenons  |  of 
a  cubit  from  the  edge  of  the  plank,  the  sockets  would  leave  a  space  between  them 
of  ^  of  a  cubit,  except  those  of  the  corner  planks,  which,  if  (like  all  the  rest)  they 
were  2  to  each  (as  the  total  demands,  96  in  all,  xxvi,  19,  21,  25 ;  besides  one  under 
each  of  the  four  columns  that  supported  the  vail,  ver.  32 ;  xxxviii,  27),  would  nicely 
lit  in  between  those  of  the  adjoining  planks,  as  in  the  annexed  diagram.  * 


fMm^     fmm     mm^-^^ 


yM 


Fig.  8. — Arrangement  of  the  Comer  Sockets.     (S.  W.  angle.) 


of  the  same  metal  and  age,  which  weiglis  onl}^  99.1 
grains,  being  very  much  worn.  Copper  shekels  usu- 
ally exceed  these  specimens  very  greatly  in  weight. 
Most  or  all  of  the  silver  shekels  sold  to  travellers  in 
Palestine  are  imitations,  and  genuine  copper  shekels 
are  exceedingly  rare.  A  copper  (really  bronze)  double 
stater  (so  to  call  it)  or  tetradraclim  (adopted  as  an 
equivalent  in  weight  for  a  quadruple  shekel)  of  the 
period  of  the  Ptolemies  (the  obverse  has  only  the 
Ptolemaic  conventional  head  of  Alexander  the  Great 
as  Jupiter  Ammon,  and  the  reverse  the  title  "  of 
Ptolemy  king,"  with  an  eagle  grasping  thunderbolts, 
and  the  indeterminate  mint-mark  delta  between  its 
legs),  obtained  by  the  Author  from  the  natives  at 
Gaza  (where  it  may  possibly  have  been  struck,  see 
Head,  Manual  of  Greek  Numismatics,  p.  680),  weighs 
1051  grains,  although  considerably  worn;  which 
yields  about  263  grains  to  the  shekel.     The  gold  and 


silver  coins  of  the  Ptolemies  gradually'  decline  in  the 
successive  reigns  from  265  to  174  grains  to  the 
drachm  or  shekel  (Poole,  Catalogue  of  Egyptian  Coins 
in  the  British  Museum,  p.  1-120).  The  Greek  coinage 
of  the  Seleucidfe,  during  the  same  period,  exhibits  a 
similar  deterioration  from  265  to  200  grains  (Poole, 
Cat.  of  Syrian  Coins  in  the  Brit.  Mas.,  p.  1-112).  The 
copper  currency  of  course  was  less  subject  to  the 
temptation  to  fall  off  from  the  standard,  which  thus 
appears  to  have  stood,  at  the  Macedonian  conquest, 
at  not  less  than  265  grains  to  the  shekel.  We  can- 
not therefoi'e  safely  fix  it  lower  than  280  grains  to 
the  shekel  for  the  time  of  Mosec. 

*  Our  arrangement  is  the  only  one  hitherto  pro- 
posed that  makes  all  the  sockets  of  the  same  size  and 
proper  form  and  in  their  places  without  interference 
with  one  another.  Lack  of  uniformity  would  have 
caused  great  confusion  and  delay. 


BARS  AND   RINOS. 


2S 


(3.)  For  the  purpose  of  keeping  the  planks  in  Hne,  three  series  of  bars  were  pro- 
vided, made  of  acacia-wood  overlaid  with  gold,  to  pass  through  rings  of  gold  stapled 
into  the  face  of  the  planks  outside  (xxvi,  26-29).  There  were  five  bars  (in  three  rows) 
for  each  bent,  the  middle  one  continuous  for  the  whole  stretch,  *  and  the  upper  and 
lower  ones  divided  into  two  lengths  (of  course  in  the  middle,  and  probably  dowelled 
with  a  pin  in  the  adjoining  ends).t  The  diameter  of  the  bars  and  rings  not  being  given, 
(nor  indeed  the  size  of  any  of  the  bars  and  rings  of  the  edifice  and  furniture),  we  may 
suppose  these  to  have  been  stout  sticks  (probably  \  of  a  cubit  in  diameter), :}:  as  two  of 
them  were  very  long,  and  all  were  exposed  to  a  severe  strain.  The  upper  and  lower 
courses  were  probably  set  as  near  as  possible  to  the  extremities  of  the  planks,  i.  e.  (as 
we  shall  see)  about  the  middle  of  the  last  cubit.  From  the  above  noticed  mention  of 
a  "  first  ring "  in  the  case  of  the  corner-plank,  we  infer  that  each  had  two  of  these 
rings.  § 

(4.)  The  whole  structure  was  doubtless  stayed  with  cords  and  tent-pins,  which 
would  be  conveniently  fastened  to  the  copper  knobs  |  in  the  planks,  set  in  the  outer 
face  one  cubit  (as  we  will  hereafter  see)  below  the  eaves,  as  a  point  of  attachment 
likewise  for  the  roof-curtain  (ver.  11,  13),  to  be  presently  considered.  These  tent- 
pins,  like  those  of  the  court-posts,  were  no  doubt  of  copper ;  and  we  presume  shorter 


*  Ver.  27.  The  last  clause  should  be  rendered, 
"  Five  bars  for  the  planks  of  the  side  of  the  Taber- 
nacle, [namely]  for  the  two  flanks  [i.e.,  ends  of  the 
rear]  westward."  These  bars,  of  course,  were  round,  as 
they  were  passed  through  rings  (Heb.  sing,  tabdath, 
sometliing  impressed,  hence  a  finger  or  seal  ring  ;  the 
same  word  used  of  all  the  other  circular  rings  of  the 
Tabernacle  furniture).  A  plausible  mode  of  arranging 
them  is  to  make  them  in  five  rows,  the  middle  or  third 
one  passing  through  the  centre  of  the  planks  them- 
selves; but  there  are  insuperable  objections  to  this: 
(«.)  It  disagrees  with  the  text,  for  this  bar  would  not 
tlien  pass  through  rings  at  all  (ver.  29,  "rings  [of] 
gold  [for]  places  [lit.,  "  houses  "]  for  the  bars  ") ;  and  it 
would  no  more  "  reach  from  end  to  end  "  than  all  the 
others.  (6.)  Unless  the  planks  were  made  inordi- 
nately thick,  this  bar  (evidently  of  the  same  size  and 
material  as  the  rest)  would  have  to  be  made  so  slender 
that  it  would  break  with  its  own  weight ;  and  in  any 
case  it  would  be  impossible  to  push  it  through  so  long 
an  aperture. 

f  So  Josephus  understands  the  case  {Antiq.  Ill, 
vi,  3),  for  he  occasionally  has  a  good  suggestion, 
altiiough  he  makes  a  sad  bungle  of  most  of  tiie  de- 
scription. 

X  If  the  bars  are  thus  made  of  the  same  size  as  the 
pillars  and  tent-poles,  they  will  exactly  continue  the 
slope  of  the  roof  canvas  over  the  eaves  at  the  same 
angle  as  the  peak.  They  will  be  partly  buried  in  the 
side-wrap  of  the  corner-planks,  but  enough  of  the  lat- 


ter will  remain  not  cut  away  for  the  requisite  strength, 
on  account  of  the  necessary  projection  of  tlie  staples 
for  the  rings. 

§  The  careful  reader  will  note  that  the  text  dis- 
tinctly constructs  the  two  corner-planks  out  of  two  of 
the  rear  planks  only,  not  each  of  them  out  of  a  rear 
plank  and  a  side  plank  combined.  It  also  speaks  of 
but  one  set  of  rings  in  this  connection,  namely,  those 
intended  for  the  bars.  Again,  it  will  be  perceived  that 
the  rear  has  16  sockets  assigned  to  it,  and  each  side 
40  ;  therefore  the  overlap  of  the  corner  plank  has  no 
extra  socket,  and  it  needs  none,  for  it  rests  on  the 
last  side  socket. 

II  Heb.  sing,  keres  (erroneously  rendered  A.  V. 
"  tache,"  i.  e.  hook),  which   Paine  ingeniously  com- 


8 


Flo.  9. — Tache  and  Ankle  Compared. 

1.  Natural  Form.     2.  Typical  Form.     3.  Artificial  Form. 

pares  with  its  kindred  karsol,  the  ankle,  from  the  strik- 
ing resemblance  to  the  latter  as  viewed  from  behind. 
See  the  renuirks  on  these  fixtures  farther  on. 


26 


STRUCTURE  OF  THE  TABERNACLE. 


stays  of  the  same  kind  were  attached  to  the  gold  knobs  on  the  inside,  as  the  roof  can- 
vas would  not  be  a  sufficient  support. 

(5.)  The  only  other  attachment  to  the  planks,  here  to  he  noticed,  was  a  doul)le 
blanket*  of  peltry  on  the  outside,  doubtless  suspended  on  the  curtain-knobs,  and  evi- 
dently intended  to  cover  the  joints,  and  thus  keep  out  the  wind  and  rain,  like  a 
shingled  weather-boarding,  or  the  tarred-paper  sheathing  of  modern  houses  (ver.  14 
and  parallels).  It  consisted  of  a  sheet  of  fur  from  some  kind  of  animal,!  doubtless 
with  the  hair  side  inward  next  to  the  gold  face  of  the  planks,  and  another  of  rain- 
skin,  dyed  red,  over  it,  with  the  hair  side  out,  so  as  to  shed  the  rain  from  the  eaves.:}: 
Their  dimensions  are  not  given  because,  the  skins  being  of  indeterminate  size,  so 
many  of  them  as  were  found  necessary  were  to  be  stitched  together  for  the  purpose. 
They  of  course  extended  to  the  top  of  the  planks,  slits  (like  button-holes)  being  made 
in  them  (as  their  toughness  would  allow)  for  the  reception  of  the  knobs  on  which 
they  hung. 

2.  As  to  the  roof,  the  first  question  that  necessarily  arises  is,  whether  the  edifice 
had  a  peak  or  was  flat-roofed.  This  is  definitely  settled  by  the  single  word  tent,% 
which  is  distinctively  applied  to  the  upper  portion  of  the  structure,  erected  "  upon  " 
the  Tabernacle  walls  (xl,  19),  and  which  by  no  possibility  of  usage,  in  any  language, 
can  mean  anything  but  a  canvas  covering  with  a  peak.  The  necessity  of  shedding 
rain,  and  the  invariable  style  of  Bedawin  encampments,  moreover  fix  this  as  an  incon- 
trovertible principle  of  architecture  in  such  cases.  An  Oriental  house-roof  of  mortar, 
clay,  etc.,  is  entirely  another  affair,  not  to  be  thought  of  here.  || 


*  Heb.,  makseh,  a  covering,  applied  only  to  this  par- 
ticular thing  and  to  a  precisely  similar  service  (as  we 
shall  see)  in  Noah's  ark  (Gen.  viii,  13),  although  the 
root  from  which  it  is  derived  frequently  occurs  of 
clothing  or  other  envelopes,  especially  for  the  sake 
of  concealment.     It  was  a  perpendicular  sheeting. 

f  Heb.  tachash,  (A.  V.  "badger,"  R.  V.  "seal"), 
u.'sually  thought  to  be  some  marine  creature,  but  pos- 
sibly the  Angora  goat,  noted  for  its  fine  long  silky 
fleece.     (See  p.  78,  note.) 

+  In  all  the  passages  where  these  are  mentioned 
the  Heb.  term  millemalah  (lit.  "from  as  to  upward"), 
which  lias  unfortunately  been  rendered  simply 
"above,"  but  means /?-o?n  the  top  dowmvard  (like  the 
water  of  the  Flood,  Gen.  vii,  20,  which  was  15  cubits 
deep  from  the  surface  to  the  summits  of  the  sub- 
merged mountains),  stands  at  the  end  of  tlie  clause 
in  the  original,  and  applies  to  both  sheets  of  skin. 
The  position  assigned  them  by  all  writers  previous 
to  Paine,  namely,  on  the  loof,  is  too  absurd  to  be  enter- 
tained for  a  moment. 

§  Heb.  ohel,  constantly  used  of  a  canvas  tent ;  but 
unfortunately  rendered  "covering"  in  the  A.  Y.  in 
this  case  (Exod.  x.wi,  7,  etc).  We  might  securely 
rest  upon  this  ground  of  evidence,  were  it  the  onlv 


one;  but  those  wiio  have  any  doubt  of  its  sufficiency 
will  find  it  imprpgnably  fortified  by  the  subsequent 
adjustments,  especially  the  breadth  and  arrangement 
of  the  roof-curtains.  Yet  Fergusson  and  Paine  iilone, 
among  our  predecessors,  have  had  the  scientific  in- 
sight to  perceive  this  obvious  implication  and  necessity. 
A  fiat  roof  would  liave  become  mouldy  and  rotten 
irretrievably  the  first  month  of  winter,  especiallj-  with 
the  fur  robes  piled  on  the  top.  Moreover,  how  un- 
sightly would  have  been  a  mere  box,  like  a  coffin  with 
a  pall  over  it!  A  flat  canvas  roof,  however  tightl}' 
stretched,  must  have  sagged  so  as  to  catch  tons  of 
water,  if  impervious ;  breaking  the  canvas,  and  indeed 
causing  the  whole  structure  to  collapse.  Or  if,  as  is 
more  probable,  the  rain  would  penetrate  the  canvas 
bowl  (so  to  speak),  it  would  deluge  the  apartments, 
especially  the  Most  Holy  place,  where  no  one  was 
allowed  to  enter,  even  for  the  purpose  of  lifting  the 
roof  with  a  rod.  so  as  to  allow  the  water  to  run  off. 
In  every  point  of  view,  the  flat-roof  scheme  is  utterly 
impracticable. 

II  Nearly  all  the  proposed  plans  of  the  Tabernacle, 
being  on  the  flat-roof  principle,  fail  to  make  anj'  ade- 
quate provision  for  securing  either  set  of  curtains,  or 
indeed  for  disposing  of  them  at  all.    Even  Fergusson. 


ROOF  CANVAS. 


27 


(1.)  Accordingly  we  have  an  account  of  the  roofing  material,  which  is  goat's-hair 
canvas  (i.  e.  camlet).,  exactly  such  as  is  employed  for  Arab  tents  to-day,  being  gener- 
ally of  a  foxy-black  or  brownish  hue  (Cant,  i,  5).  It  was  woven  in  11  pieces,  each  30 
4  wide  (ver.  7,  8),  and  these  breadths  were  joined  *  into  two  large 


cubits  long  and 


Fig.  10. — Arab  Tents  in  the  South  of  Judah.      (From  a  photograph.) 
It  will  be  perceived,  from  the  white  stripes  on  one  of  these  tents,  that  the  cloth  runs  horizontally. 


althougli,  as  a  professional  architect,  he  perceives  the 
necessity  of  a  peak-roof,  is  obliged  to  extend  the  roof- 
slieets  into  unwarranted  wing-slopes,  and  to  furl  the 
others  in  rolls  at  the  gables,  where  they  would  soon 
mildew  and  decay.  The  misery  of  all  these  devices 
is  that  they  bring  the  precious  Vail  in  the  worst 
possible  place,  namely,  directly  under  the  gap  in  the 
roof  occasioned  by  the  union  of  tlie  curtains  by  means 
of  loops  and  S  or  C  hooks.  To  pile  the  •'  tachash  " 
and  ram  skins  on  the  top,  in  order  to  stop  the  leak,  is 
a  pitiful  contrivance.  The  "  taches,"  tlie  true  mean 
ing  of  which  Paine  was  the  first  to  point  out,  are  the 
key  to  the  whole  situation,  as  they  afford  a  firm  sup- 
port to  all  the  connections.  Tiie  Revised  Version 
renders  them  "  clasps  "  at  a  venture  (or  from  Whis- 
ton's  Josephus) ;  but  these  would  be  unsuitable  for 
loops,  and  do  not  mend  the  matter.  The  rain-fall 
during  the  showers  in  the  winter  on  the  Sinaitic  pe- 
ninsula is  often  prodigious  (Palmer,  Desert  of  the  Ex- 
odus, p.  33,  129,   177,  Am.  ed.),  and  snow  occasionally 


falls  to  tlie  depth  of  several  inches  in  the  valleys 
about  Mt.  Sinai  (Ridgaway,  The  Lord's  Land,  p.  80.) 
In  March,  1874,  the  Author,  with  his  party,  was  over- 
taken by  a  snow  storm  at  Mt.  Sinai,  of  such  severity 
as  to  compel  them  to  take  refuge  in  the  convent  tliere 
for  several  days.  Writers  who  think  only  of  the  dry 
season  have  little  knowledge  in  the  case. 

*  Heb.  chabdr,  to  associate  together  as  companions, 
(A.  Y.  "couple,")  evidently  by  sewing  into  a  sheet 
(ver.  10,  wlierea  derivative  of  the  same  verb  is  used); 
so  also  of  tlie  side  curtains  (ver.  3).  The  same  verb 
indeed  is  used  to  denote  the  junction  of  the  two 
sheets  on  the  knobs  (ver.  6,  11),  because  they  are 
there  also  united  by  the  edges,  although  in  a  different 
manner.  If  tlie  intention  had  been  simply  to  join 
the  two  sections  of  each  set  of  curtains  into  one  im- 
mense sheet,  they  would  of  course  iiave  been  sewed 
together  at  once,  like  the  individual  l)readths,  instead 
of  resorting  to  the  clumsy  and  imperfect  seam  by 
means  of  loops  and  hooks,  as  interpreters  have  done. 


28 


STRUCTURE  OF  TEE  TABERNACLE. 


separate  sheets,  one  containing  5  and  the  other  6  of  the  pieces  of  cloth  (ver  9).  Tlie 
extra  or  sixth  "  curtain  "  or  breadth  of  the  second  sheet  was  employed  for  a  2)eculiar 
purpose,  namely,  not  as  a  part  of  the  roof-covering,  but  to  be  wrapped  across  the 
front  and  rear  gables.*  In  order  to  do  this  it  must  liave  been  attached  to  its  fellow- 
breadths  not  by  the  selvedge,  like  the  others,  but  at  the  end  of  the  lowest  or  (eave) 
breadth.f  We  have  therefore  two  goat's-hair  sheets,  each  30  cubits  long  by  20  wide, 
but  one  of  them  with  extensions  (or  "  L  parts  "  so  to  speak),  one  t-svice  as  long  as  the 
other,  in  the  manner  of  the  diagram  on  the  following  page,     (See  Fig.  11.) 

Again,  as  these  elongations  of  one  of  the  breadths  were  to  be  folded  across  the 
gables,  the  other  breadths  must  likewise  run  horizontally,  but  along  and  upon  the  roof. 
For  this  purpose  they  would  be  exactly  long  enough  (for  the  20  planks,  each  1|- 
cubits  wide,  make  also  30  cubits),  and  their  combined  width  (20  cubits)  would  like- 
wise be  exactly  broad  enough  to  go  over  the  ridge,  and  buckle  down  over  the  knobs 
in  the  planks.:}:     This  last  fact  is  very  important,  for  there  was  no  other  provision 


*  That  this  is  the  true  meaningof  the  expression  in 
Exod.  xxvi,  9,  "  And  slialt  double  [Heb.  kaphdl,  to 
"  fold,"  without  regard  to  the  number  of  thicknesses  ; 
for  it  is  used  of  repetition  indefinitely]  the  sixtli  cur- 
tain in  the  forefront  [lit.  "  towards  the  front  of  the 
face  "]  of  the  Tent  [not  "  Tabernacle,"  as  in  the  A.  V. ; 
for  there  was  no  wooden  wall,  or  Tabernacle  part, 
in  the  front  of  tlie  building],"  is  clear  from  the  use 
of  »he  same  phrase  to  describe  the  position  of  the  en- 
graved plate  on  the  high-priest's  head-dress  (Exod. 
xxviii,  37),  "upon  the  forefront,"  certainly  not  across 
the  back  of  his  head.  In  ver.  12,  accordingly,  the  ex- 
pression is  very  diflFerent,  "[As  to]  the  remnant  [lit. 
"  overflow,"  i.  e.  extended  flap]  that  remaineth  [lit. 
"the  superfluous,"  i.e.  jutting  out  on  this  end]  of 
[lit.  "  in  "]  the  curtains  of  the  Tent  [i.  e.  roof-part], 
half  of  the  [not  "  the  half,"  as  in  the  A.  V.]  curtain 
that  remaineth  [lit.  as  before,  "the  superfluous," 
i.  e.  jutting  out  portion  on  the  end]  shall  [or  "  thou 
Bhalt "]  hang  [lit.  cause  to  "  overflow  "]  over  [lit. 
"  upon  "]  the  backside  of  the  Tabernacle  [i.  e.  wall- 
part]."  Nor  is  either  of  these  two  parts  of  tlie  sur- 
plus or  sixth  roof-curtain  the  same  with  that  part 
immediately  afterwards  described  (ver.  l.S),  "And  a 
[rather  "  the  "]  cubit  on  tlie  one  side  [lit.  "  from  this  "], 
and  a  [lit.  "  the  "]  cubit  on  that  side  [lit.  "  from  that "], 
of  that  which  remaineth  [lit.  "  in  the  superfluous," 
i.  e.  excess]  in  the  length  [not  parallel  with  the 
eaves,  but  across  them]  of  the  curtains  of  the  Tent 
[i.  e.  roof-part],  it  [omit  this  word  as  ungrammat- 
ical,  not  found  in  the  text,  and  misleading]  shall  hang 
[lit.  "  be  overflowing  "]  over  [lit.  "  upon  "]  the  sides 
of  the  Tabernacle  [i.  e.  wall-part],  on  this  side  [lit. 
"  from  this  "]  and  on  that  side  [lit.  "  from  that "],  to 
cover  it."     Mark  that  in  ver.   9  only  so  much  of  the 


sixth  curtain  is  to  project  at  that  end  as  is  necessary 
to  fold  (once)  across  the  front  (i.  e.  10  cubits) ;  while 
in  ver.  12  half  (10  cubits)  of  the  residue  (20  cubits)  of 
the  curtain  projecting  at  the  other  end  is  to  be  folded 
(twice,  but  separatelj^  reckoned,  as  we  shall  see) 
across  the  7-ea7- ;  and  still  again,  in  ver.  13,  there  is  a 
(different)  excess  of  one  cubit  to  be  folded  down  each 
side.  This  last  "length  of  the  curtains  of  the  tent" 
is  not  reckoned  horizontally,  but  vertically,  as 
"breadth"  is  in  xxxviii,  18;  in  both  cases  height 
being  really  meant. 

Note  that  the  preposition  here  employed  is  'el 
(A.  v.,  "  in  "),  which  means  a  flexure  in  a  horizontal 
direction ;  not  'al,  which  would  have  indicated  vertical 
motion.  With  this  agrees  the  other  distinctive  term 
here  added,  namely,  m&l,  which  is  lit.  cut  off,  i.  e.,  an 
abrupt  and  perpendicular  surface.  Tiio  extra  roof- 
curtaiu,  therefore,  was  neither  spread  nor  furled  over- 
head, or  on  either  side,  but  was  used  to  inclose  the 
upright  gables  in  front  and  rear. 

f  Paine  was  tlie  first  writer,  from  Josephus  down, 
to  .'iuggest  an  endwise  union  of  either  set  of  Taber- 
nacle curtains;  but  he  joins  this  sixth  roof-curtain 
wholly  at  the  end  of  its  fellow,  folding  all  of  it  across 
the  rear  of  the  building,  for  which  it  is  more  than 
enough,  although  he  makes  the  Tabernacle  12  cubits 
wide  by  29|  long  (inside  measurement),  or  12^  wide  by 
30  long  (outside) — both  disproportionate  numbers. 

J  If  the  peak  be  an  isosceles  triangle  of  70°  (a 
sacred  number)  at  the  apex  (giving  55^°  at  each  of  tho 
other  vortices,  a  very  proper  slope  for  a  roof),  the 
base  being  1 0,i-  cubits  (i.  e.  the  width  of  the  room, 
plus  the  thickness  of  the  walls),  each  side  of  the  roof 
will  be  exactly  9  cubits  wide,  and  these  with  the  cubit 
below  each  eave  will  make  up  the  required  sura. 


ROOF   CANVAS. 


29 


(unless  possibly  a  pin  at  each  end  of  the  middle  bar)  to  prevent  the  tops  of  the  planks 
from  parting  laterally  (as  the  strain  of  the  transverse  stay-cords  at  the  ends  of  the 
line  would  certainly  make  them  do),  except  the  stretching  of  this  roof-canvas  across 
their  face.  Moreover  this  roof -canvas  stretched  tight  across  the  ridge  would  keep 
the  whole  of  the  building  from  parting,  under  the  outward  strain  of  the  stay-cords 
directly  opposite. 


06666666666666666666G 


'6  6  5  fj  6  6  n  A  Ml  ^1  fi  5  6'6  6  U  6  6  6*^)6  Hjirfrt-o^^frairfrib^ 

Fig.  11. — Roof-curtains  as  made  up  and  furnished  with  Loops. 
a.  Five  breadths.    6.  Six  breadths. 

The  sixth  or  surplus  breadth  of  the  larger  roof -curtain,  as  we  have  seen,  was 
folded  across  the  bottom  part  of  each  gable,  partly  closing  this  triangle,  and  prevent- 
ing the  draught  of  air  through  the  rooms  (which  were  otherwise  entirely  open  in  the 
front  peak)  *  As  it  was  30  cubits  long  (like  all  its  fellows),  one  third  of  it  was  suf- 
ficient to  do  this,  single-fold  ;  f  and  this  gives  us  a  clew  to  the  peculiar  significance  of 


*  The  reader  should  note  how  important  a  purpose 
the  extra  roof-sheet  also  served  in  covering  the  other- 
wise exposed  top  of  the  rear  planks  and  their  attach- 
ments. Uniformity  in  this  respect  is  maintained  all 
around  the  three  sides  of  the  edifice. 

f  The  peak,  if  an  angle  of  70°,  as  we  haveassumed. 
would  be  very  nearly  'h  cubits  perpendicular  height 


above  the  tops  of  the  planks,  and  the  gable  curtain 
would  rise  3  cubits  high  above  them,  so  as  nearly  to  fill 
up  the  rest  of  the  triangle,  in  the  manner  shown  by  the 
annexed  diagram  (Fig.  12).  The  opening  at  the  peak 
was  needed  for  light  and  ventilation,  serving  both  aa 
a  window  and  a  chimney;  but  a  full  current  of  air 
would  have  put  out  the  lights  of  the  candelabrum.  The 


so 


STRUGTUIiE   OF   THE   TABERNACLE. 


the  word  here  translated  "  double.'*'  *  It  suggests  that  the  curtain  in  question  was: 
actually  laid  on  "  douhle  thickness  "  (as  we  say)  ;  in  other  words,  that  the  other  part 
of  it  M^as  employed  in  repeating  the  same  process,  simply  by  reversing  the  operation 
of  folding.  This  additional  security  against  the  weather  was  doubtless  extended  to 
the  other  roof-curtains,  and  that  will  effectually,  readily  and  consistently  dispose  of 
the  remaining  or  smaller  sheet  of  5  breadths.  The  whole  roof,  in  short,  was  of  double 
canvas,  like  the  "  fly  "  over  the  best  modern  tents. 

The  lower  edge  of  each  sheet  \vas  buttoned  securely  over  the  curtain-knobs  by 
means  of  loops  f  (doubtless  likewise  of  goat's  hair,  probably  twisted  into  cord)  attached 
to  the  selvedge  (ver  10).  ^     The  fact  that  each  sheet  had  50  of  these,  while  there- 


gores  at  the  top  of  tlie  folds  (occasioned  by  the  slant  of 
the  roof)  would  be  tucked  in  between  the  two  layers 
of  roof-canvas.  The  small  gores  at  the  corners  of 
tlie  eaves  (occasioned  by  the  extra  width  of  the 
planks  beyond  tlie  peak)  may  be  covered  by  extend- 
ing the  skiu-blaukets  a  little   above  the  tops  of  the 


Fig.  12. — Rear  Gable  nearly  closed  by  the  sixth  Eoof- 
curtain. 

The  front  gable  was  partly  closed  in  like  manner,  but  by  a  single 
fold. 

planks,  where  they  would  likewise  be  iield  between 
the  layers  of  the  roof-canvas.  (See  Fig.  1 3.)  In  the 
same  manner  they  probably  lapped  around  the  front 
edges,  so  as  to  be  buttoned  to  tlie  liooks  in  the  end- 
posts  of  the  door-way.  If  any  further  support  were 
needed  for  the  front  fold  of  canvas,  it  might  also  be 
buttoned  to  an  extra  hook  in  the  central  post.  It 
should  be  observed  that  these  immaterial  points  are 
left  to  the  discretion  of  the  builders. 

*Heb.  kaphdl  (noted  above),  which  properly  means 
to  "  lorap  around,"  but  is  frequently  used  in  tlie  sense 
of  duplication,  and  sometimes  in  that  of  continued 
reiteration. 

\  Heb.  only  in  the  plu.  lulaoth  (lit.  "  windings  "), 
nooses,  used  solely  of  this  particular  thing,  and  a  kin- 
dred word  Mim,  a  spiral  staircase  (1  Kings  vi,  8). 
These  loops  were  probably  rove  through  eyelets  in 
the  edges  of  tlic  curtains ;  those  of  the  roof-canvas 
apparently  having  the  ends  merely  tied  together  in  o 


ring,  and  those   of  the   side   drapery  knotted  at  the- 
back.     (Compare  Fig.  16.) 

X  The  language  here  used  is  peculiar,  *'  Thou  shalt 
make  fifty  loops  on  the  edge  [lit.  "lip"]  of  the  one- 
[rather  "  first "]  curtain  [i.  e.  breadth],  that  is  out- 
most [lit.  "  extreme  "]  in  the  coupling  [i.  e.  sheet,  as 
sewed  together],  and  fifty  loops  in  the  edge  of  the 
curtain  that  coupleth  the  second  [rather,  "  (namely,) 
the  second  coupling "]."  This  cannot  well  mean, 
merely,  as  understood  b}'  most  interpreters,  that  each; 
sewed  sheet  had  fifty  loops  on  one  of  its  edges;; 
lor  besides  the  circumlocution  to  express  so  simple- 
an  idea,  thej'  would  then  be  exactlj''  alike  in  this  re- 
spect, whereas  the  phraseology  expresses  consider- 
able difference  between  them.  With  Paine,  we  take 
the  statement  to  signify  that  each  sheet,  as  ajijtUed 
to  the  building,  covered  the  space  occupied  by  that 
number  of  loops,  reckoning  the  whole  circuit  of  the- 
roof,  from  one  front  corner  round  the  sides  and 
back,  to  the  opposite  front  corner;  in  other  words, 
the  50  loops  of  each  sheet  include  the  rear,  as  being 
necessary  in  order  to  complete  their  circuit:  and  in- 
asmuch as  this  was  double,  tlie  inner  fold  is  attributed 
to  the  elongated  inner  sheet,  of  which  it  was  actually 
a  part,  and  the  outer  fold  to  the  outer  sheet,  of  which 
it  was  the  complement.  This  mode  of  estimation  is. 
favored  by  the  reference,  in  the  passage  itself,  to  the 
extremities  of  the  line  of  measurement.  The  uniform- 
ity of  proportion  was  thus  maintained,  although  the 
sheets  themselves  were  unequal,  and  their  attach- 
ments varied  accordingly. 

For  the  s<ake  of  convenient  comparison  we  place- 
here,  in  parallel  columns,  an  exact  translation  of  this. 
and  the  remarkably  similar,  yet  characteristically  dif- 
ferent, account  of  the  otlier  set  of  hangings  for  the 
same  structure  (ver.  4,  5),  which  we  will  presently 
consider  in  detail.  Tlip  words  in  the  parallel  account 
(xxxvi,  8-18)  arc  identical  (in  the  original)  except  iis. 
to  tense. 


ROOF   CANVAS. 


SI 


were  but  50  of  the  knobs  in  all  to  wliicli  they  were  attached  (ver.  11),  confirms  our 
position  that  the  curtains  were  double,  one  being  fastened  on  directly  over  the  otlier. 
If  all  these  50  loops  had  been  sewed  on  a  single  edge  of  30  cubits'  length,  they 
would  not  only  have  been  greatly  crowded  (occurring  about  half-a-cubit  apart),  but 
would  also  have  been  out  of  harmony  with  all  the  other  associated  spaces.  The  cubit  in 
the  span  of  the  canvas  across  the  roof  was  carried  down  (as  already  noticed)  over  the 
eaves,  and  served  to  close  the  joint  perfectly,  shedding  the  drip  to  the  ram-skins 
(ver.  12).* 


Fig.  13. — Fold  in  the  Roof-curtain  at  the  Corner. 

The  cut  exhibits  the  outer  layer  of  the  canvas  at  the  north-west  angle,  tlie  little  pore  at  the  left-hand  top  of  the 
rear  wrap  being  brought  out  of  the  tuok  under  the  sidi'  (or  roof)  curtain's  edpe,  so  as  to  show  it.  The  inner  layer 
goes  under  this,  coinciding  with  it,  and  the  double  blanket  of  skins  between  them. 


Roof  curtains  (Exod.  xxvi.  10.)    Side  ciirtai  its  (Exod.  xxvi.  4, 5). 

And  thou  shalt  make  fifty  And  thou  sh.ilt  make  loops  of 
loops  upon  the  lip  (edge)  of  the  violet  on  the  lip  (edge)  of  the 
first  curtain  [as]  the  endmost  first  curtain  from  an  end  in  the 
in  the  joining,  and  fifty  loops  joining,  and  so  shalt  thou  make 
upon  tine  lip  (edge)  of  the  cur-  in  the  lip  (edge)  of  the  curtain 
tain  [as]  the  second  joining.  [as]  in  tlie  endmost  in  the  sec- 

ond joint.  Fifty  loops  shalt 
thou  make  in  the  first  curtain, 
and  fifty  loops  shalt  thou  make 
in  the  end  of  the  curtain  which 
[is]  in  the  second  joint;  the 
loops  receptive  one  toward  the 
other. 

,    The  two  Heb.  terms  carefully  used  in  the  above 

passages  for  distinguishing  the  two  kinds  of  margin 

which  every  piece  or  sheet  of   cloth  necessarily  has, 

must  not  be  confounded,  as  they  seem  to  be  by  every 

interpreter  whom  we  have  consulted,  namel}',  saphah 

(lit.  lip,  A.  V.  "  edge  "),  which  is  tlie  selvedge  or  lateral 

(woven)  margin ;  and  katseh  (lit.  end,  A.  V.  "  edge  "), 


or  its  equivalent  kaisah  (lit.  end,  A.  V.  "  selvedge  "), 
with  its  derivative  kitsyon  (lit.  endwise,  or  endmost, 
A.  "V.  "uttermost,"  "utmost"),  which  denotes  the 
raxu  edge  or  terminal  (cut)  margin.  The  lip  is  the 
natural  border  of  the  mouth  (which  is  not  a  gash  in 
the  face),  while  the  other  term  (from  katsdh,  to  dip  off) 
is  the  abrupt  end. 

It  is  to  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  rear  laps  of  tlie 
roof-curtains,  although  exactly  one  third  the  length 
of  those  on  the  side  of  the  building,  require  each  8 
loops,  instead  of  7,  in  order  to  meet  the  correspond- 
ing knobs,  which  are  closer  together  at  the  corner 
than  elsewhere.    (See  Fig.  11.) 

*  This  "  superfluity  "  or  overlap  (different  from  that 
of  ver.  12)  is  said  to  be  "in  tlie  length  of  the  cur- 
tains,"   because  it    showed   vertically    when  hung. 


32  STRUCTURE   OF   THE   TABERNACLE. 

(2.)  The  roof  was  obviously  sustained  by  an  extension  upward  of  the  central 
door-post  (soon  to  be  considered)  in  front  of  the  entire  building,  and  no  doubt  by  a 
similar  one  in  the  rear,  with  probably  a  third  in  the  middle  of  the  whole  edifice.  These 
served  as  tent-poles,  and  their  heads  were  probably  bevelled  on  a  curv^e  so  as  not  to 
perforate  the  canvas.  They  were  of  course  stayed  by  extra  ropes  near  the  top,  doubt- 
less by  means  of  a  noose,  kept  from  slipping  down  (as  in  the  court-posts)  by  an  ad- 
ditional hook,  which  last  would  likewise  serve  to  receive  an  eyelet  in  the  edge  of  the 
roof-canvas  at  the  peak.  There  is  no  evidence,  as  there  was  no  need,  of  any  other 
posts  or  cross-ropes  (or  cross-poles),  nor  of  a  ridge-pole  (or  ridge-rope),  which  is  not 
customary  in  Arab  tents.* 


Compare  tlie  converse  expression  in  xxxviii,  18.  The 
length  of  the  exterior  or  roof  curtains  is  given  accord- 
ing to  the  inside  dimensions  of  the  building,  as  we 
shall  see  is  done  with  great  exactness  also  in  the  case 
of  the  interior  or  wall  curtains.  But  as  the  outside 
of  the  building  was  of  course  larger  than  its  inside 
(iiy  the  thickness  of  the  walls),  the  extra  length  of 
roof-canvas  falls  short  considerably  (namely,  f  [at  the 
front]  +  f  [at  the  rear,  where  the  corner-board  is 
doubled]  =  1|  cubits  in  all)  in  wrapping  across  the 
gable  three  times.  To  meet  this  deficiency  we  must 
suppose  that  a  notch  or  slit  (the  raw  end  of  course 
bound  or  hemmed  to  prevent  ravelling)  was  made  in 
tlie  edge  of  this  extension  at  the  corner,  running  \ip 
sufficiently  to  meet  the  slope  of  the  roof  (i.  e.  about 
1^  cubits),  and  this  break  in  the  continuity  of  the 
looped  edge  facilitates  the  attribution  of  the  loops  of 
the  dissevered  selvedges  to  the  under  and  the  outer 
layers  of  the  roof  canvas,  which  we  have  seen  to  be 
required  in  order  to  maintain  uniformity  in  the  num- 
ber of  the  loops;  especial!}' as  tlie  layers  were  put 
on  separately,  with  the  skin-blankets  between  tliem. 
If  it  be  asked.  Why  was  not  this  sixth  roof-curtain 
made  a  little  longer  at  once,  so  as  to  cover  the 
corners  completely?  we  reply  that  this  would  not 
only  have  deranged  the  uniformit}'-  of  dimensions 
(a  point  which  we  shall  see  is  important  in  the 
symbolism— where  no  odd  fractions  are  permitted), 
but  would  also  have  caused  a  larger  and  thicker 
gore  at  tlie  corner  than  could  have  been  neatly 
tucked  in  between  the  layers  of  the  roof-canvas, 
especially  as  the  extension  must  then  liave  been 
made  at,  least  two  cubits  longer,  to  wrap  (four  times) 
over  the  bars  and  rings  of  the  corner,  and  all  this  sur- 
plus would  be  accumulated  in  the  gore.  The  trian- 
gular gap  !it  the  corner  may  be  covered  by  carrying  up 
tlie  blanket  of  skins  sufficiently  above  the  tops  of  tlic 
planks;  and  the  fulness  thus  occasioned  in  their 
short  gore  may  be  relieved  by  a  slit  of  their  fold  like- 
wise at  that  point  (which  could  not  be  done  in  the 


longer  fold  of  the  roof-canvas  without  dissevering  it 
entirely).  (See  Pig.  13.)  The  ridge  remains  precisely 
30  cubits  long,  and  this  regulates  the  length  of  the 
roof-canvas.  The  ends  of  the  roof-sheets,  it  will  be 
observed,  are  maintained  square,  and  the  tent-poles 
perfectly  plumb,  while  the  rear  gable  is  a  little  wider 
at  the  bottom,  so  as  to  cover  the  tops  of  the  planks. 
An  extra  hook  or  two  may  be  inserted  in  the  tent-pole 
to  support  the  upper  edge  of  this  front  and  rear  lap, 
and  one  also  in  the  edge  of  each  front  plank,  if  neces- 
sary ;  for  the  number  of  liooks  (and  of  their  corres- 
ponding eyelets)  is  nowhere  stated. 

Paine,  to  whom,  as  above  acknowledged,  we  are 
indebted  for  this  segregation  of  the  eleventh  roof- 
curtain  and  its  loops,  is  imable  to  use  it  to  advantage 
because  he  makes  the  building  twelve  cubits  wide  in- 
stead of  ten.  He  has  therefore  not  enough  ma- 
terial to  wrap  across  the  front  gable,  but  too  much 
to  wrap  twice  across  the  rear  gable.  The  six  surplus 
cubits  of  curtain  must  therefore,  on  his  sciieme,  be 
folded  away  between  the  side  layers,  and  go  unfur- 
nished with  loops,  although  they  occur  in  the  very 
middle  of  the  looped  portion,  without  anything  to 
mark  the  break  in  the  continuity  of  the  loops. 

*  A  ridge-pole  would  have  been  excessively  heavy 
if  stout  enough  to  prevent  any  sag,  and  a  ridge-rope 
would  have  been  no  stronger  than  the  canvas  itself. 
Arab  tents  have  ordinarily  nine  perpendicular  poles, 
arranged  in  three  rows,  of  three  each,  which  corre- 
spond respectively  to  the  ridge  and  the  two  caves. 
The  roof-canvas  is  merely  thrown  over  their  tops, 
extending  in  a  long  slope  on  all  the  four  sides  to  the 
ground,  to  which  it  is  stretched  tight  by  cords  and 
pins.  The  entrance  is  simply  by  raising  a  flap  of  this 
canvas,  which  in  the  day-time  and  fine  weather  is 
kept  open  by  an  extra  pole  or  two  standing  obliquely 
outward  like  an  awning.  The  interior  is  divided  into 
two  apartments  (the  front  usually  for  the  men,  and 
the  rear  for  the  women)  by  a  screen  stretched 
along  the  middle   line  of  poles.     All  this  is  exactly 


FRONT  SCREEN. 


33 


3.  The  interior  hangings  of  tlie  building  were  of  a  far  finer  texture  than  the  roof- 
eurtains. 

(1.)  The  entrance  was  closed  by  a  screen  precisely  like  that  of  the  outer  Court 
(xxvi,  36),  supported  by  5  pillars  in  exactly  the  same  manner,  except  that  they  were 
overlaid  entirely  with  gold  (hence  recpiiring  no  separate  caps),  and  that  the  hooks 
were  of  gold  (ver.  37),  the  sockets  (and  of  course  the  tenons)  being  of  copper.  We 
presume  that  these  pillars  were  of  the  same  form  and  size  also,  both  with  each  other 
and  with  those  of  the  Court,  and  w^e  have  already  supposed  the  central  one  to  be  car- 
ried up  to  the  height  requisite  to  support  the  peak. 

Placing  the  first  and  the  fifth  pillar  as  close  to  the  walls  as  the  side-curtain  will 


iinalogous  to  the  arrangement  of  the  Tabernacle,  ex- 
cept tluit  the  walls  supply  the  place  of  the  side  rows 
of  poles,  and  that  the  partition  is  thrown  further 
back. 


onal  form,  with  one  central  post,  and  the  others  dis- 
posed circularly  around  it,  the  outer  walls  falling  per- 
pendicularly from  them  to  the  ground,  and  braced  by 
the  usual  cords  and  pins.  This  strikingly  approaches 


Fig.  14.— Probable  Form  of  the  First  and  Third  "  Tabernacles."    (See  pages  9  and  10.) 
The  Vail  is  seen  across  the  middle  of  the  tent,  corresponding  to  the  partition  between  the  men's  and  the  women's  apartments. 


The  central  tent-pole  among  the  Bedawin  is  the  I 
general  receptacle  of  loose  utensils,  which  are  hung 
upon  it,  as  was  the  practice  among  the  ancient  As-  j 
Syrians  (Layard,  Nineveh,  ii,  214,  Putnam's  ed.).     It  j 
would  be  a  most  convenient  place  for  suspending  the 
sacerdotal    wardrobe,  when    not   in  use    (Lev.   xvi, 
2:5). 

Occasionally,  especially  on  the  outskirts  of  civiliza-  | 
tiou,  we  meet  with  an  Oriental  tent  that  has  an  odwj- ; 
3 


the  plan  of  the  Tabernacle,  and  we  have  suggested 
that  the  tents  temporarilj'  erected  for  sacred  purposes 
by  Moses  and  David  may  liave  been  of  this  descrip- 
tion. (See  Fig.  14.)  One  such  is  exhibited  in  the 
photograph  from  which  Fig.  10  is  copied,  and  anotlier 
with  a  wing  curtain  also.  This  form  has  the  advan- 
tage of  greater  compactness  of  space  for  the  head- 
room afforded,  and  may  serve  to  distinguish  the 
residence  of  a  noted  personage. 


34 


STRUCTURE   OF  THE   TABERNACLE. 


allow,*  we  have  four  openings  left  of  about  of  2  cubits  each  (or  3|  feet)  in  the  clear, 
which  is  ample  for  a  person  to  pass  througli.  The  pillars  of  course  were  stayed  fore 
and  aft  by  cords  and  pins,  but  needed  no  bracing  laterally,  as  the  rods  lield  the  tops 
equidistant,  and  tlie  side  walls  kept  the  whole  line  from  falling  either  way. 

(2.)  The  wall  drapery,  already  several  times  referred  to,  consisted  of  ten  pieces 
of  cloth  woven  of  the  same  materials  as  the  door-way  screens,  but  in  this  case  only  4 
cubits  wide,  and  28  long  ;  sewed  together  into  two  large  sheets,  and  buttoned  witli  loops 
(of  violet  [cord])  f  to  golden  knobs  in  the  walls,  altogether  analogously  to  the  roof- 
curtains  (xxvi,  1-6  ;  xxxvi,  8-13)4  These  two  slieets  are  explicitly  said  to  be 
exactly  alike,  and  to  be  similarly  furnished  with  loops  ;  hence,  borrowing  the  hint 
from  the  duplication  of  the  roof-canvas,  we  presume  they  were  intended  to  be  hung 
clouhle  along  the  walls.  §     If  so,  they  were  sewed  together  eiidwise,  like  the  fifth  and 

This  completes  the  system  of  double  house 


sixth  cloths  of  the 


larger  roof-sheet. 


*  The  two  copper  sockets  for  these  pillars  (or  posts) 
may  be  set  adjohiingthe  silver  sockets  of  the  planks, 
with  a  small  interval  between  as  a  mortice  to  receive 
the  copper  teuon.  The  rear  tent-pole  will  exactly 
fall  between  two  silver  sockets,  and  its  copper  socket 
ma}'  be  sunk  below  them  out  of  sight. 

f  In  the  case  of  the  roof-curtains,  as  we  saw,  the 
material  of  the  loops  was  not  specified,  because  it 
would  be  taken  for  granted  as  being  the  same  with 
the  simple  material  of  the  curtains  themselves.  But 
in  the  present  case  there  is  need  of  stating  which  of 
the  two  materials,  linen  and  wool,  that  composed  the 
side-curtains,  was  selected,  and,  again,  which  of  the 
three  colors  used  indyeing  it  was  chosen.  As  they  were 
made  of  twisted  (i.  e.  two-stranded)  cord,  and  this  again 
of  either  single  or  double  thread,  the  three  colors  could 
not  have  been  employed  in  equal  proportions  in  their 
composition  (nor  would  such  a  mottled  color  have 
been  suitable  in  itself  or  consonant  with  the  other 
colored  objects),  and  of  the  three  the  cerulean  was 
far  the  most  appropriate  on  the  overlaid  background 
("  blue  and  gold  ").  But  there  was  another  and  more 
imperative  reason  for  tlie  use  of  ''blue"  (violet)  as  the 
color  of  these  loops  :  they  were  always  attached  (as 
we  shall  eventually  see)  to  (or  near)  the  upper  cor- 
ners of  the  violet  stripe  in  the  cloth,  the  eyelets, 
through  wliich  tlie}''  were  rove,  being  set  entirely 
within  that  color.  The  only  exception  to  this  rule 
(so  obviously  proper;  for  violet  loops  on  a  different- 
colored  edge  would  have  been  unseemly,  when  in 
plain  sight)  is  in  the  extreme  corners,  where  there  is 
no  violet  stripe  to  be  shown,  and  where  the  union  is 
concealed  by  the  two  folds  coming  together,  as  do  the 
ends  of  the  loops  also.  Tlie  stripes  of  different  colors, 
woven,  are  maintained  of  imiform  width  and  succes- 
sion in  the  same  piece  of  cloth,  as  must  have  been 
done  in  weaving  tliem.     (See  Fig.  16.) 


X  See  the  comparison  of  the  language  used  respect- 
ing these  two  series  of  curtains,  as  given  above  and 
below. 

i5  This  suggestion  is  countenanced  by  the  special 
Heb.  word  employed  to  denote  their  combination,. 
makbil  (xxvi,  5;  xxxvi,  12,  only;  A.  V.  "held,"" 
"  take  hold  "),  lit.  "causing  to  receive,"  being  the  par- 
ticiple of  a  causative  conjugation  of  the  verb  kahaly 
usually  rendered  "  to  receive."  The  reader  should! 
note  tliat  the  loops  "  take  hold  one  of  another  "  (as- 
the  A.  A",  in  xxvi,  5),  not  "  held  one  curtain  to- 
another"  (as  the  A.  V.  in  xxxvi,  12).  They  fall 
directly  upon  each  other,  being  duplicated  like  the 
curtains  themselves. 

II  This  last  named  fact  is  the  final  justification  of 
the  singular  phraseology  (as  previously  exhibited)i 
designating  the  resemblances  as  well  as  the  differ- 
ences between  the  two  sets  of  curtains.  They  alike- 
had  50  selvedge  loops  in  the  entire  course  of  each 
layer  as  put  on  the  building  ;  the  "  coupling  "  or  com- 
bination, meant  in  this  connection  not  being  that  of 
sewing  together  into  one  sheet  (as  in  xxvi,  3,  9; 
xxxvi,  10,  18),  but  that  of  bringing  the  corresponding 
sheets  over  each  other  in  the  erection  (as  in  xxvi,  6 ; 
xxxvi,  13).  Hence  the  use  of  the  term  "endmost" 
curtain  (i.  e.  the  piece  sewed  at  the  end  of  its  neighbor, 
and  not  at  the  side  or  selvedge,  like  the  rest)  only  in 
speaking  oH\\q  first  sheet  of  the  roof -covering;  where- 
as it  (or  its  equivalent  "end")  is  applied  to  both  side- 
sheets.  The  terms  "  first  "  and  "  second  "  here,  as 
applied  to  the  "  curtains  "  or  the  "  couplings,"  mean 
not  those  previously  described  as  five-breadth  or  six- 
breadth  sheets  (for  with  regard  to  tlie  roof -canvas  the 
smaller  one  is  named  first,  whereas  here  it  is  the 
larger  that  is  thus  designated),  but  those  laid  on  first 
or  second,  i.  e.  the  under  and  the  outer  layer  respect- 
ively. 


DOUBLE    COVERINOS.  35 

coverings  for  every  closed  part  of  the  edifice— a  twofold  blanket  of  skins  on  the  out- 
side of  the  walls,  like  a  weather-boarding  ;  a  twofold  drapery  of  linen-and-wool  *  on 
their  inside,  like  a  wainscoting ;  and  a  twofold  canvas  of  camlet  on  the  roof  and  rear 
gable,  like  a  shingling.  All  the  front-coverings  were  single,  as  here  the  structure  was 
strictly  a  tent.  We  observe  incidentally  that  both  sets  of  "  curtains,"  although  sub- 
stantially duplicated,  as  if  sufficient  for  two  such  structures,  are  pointedly  said  (ver. 
6,  11)  to  be  so  brought  together  by  the  knobs  as  to  form  "  one  tent "  and  one  "  taber- 


Wenote,  iunrtler  to  exemplify  the  exactitude  char- 
acteristic of  tiiis  whole  text  (although  at  first  sight 
almost  uniutelligible),  that  the  description  of  the  side- 
curtains  is  repeated  (with  some  intentional  variation) 
in  both  accounts,  although  tlieir  arrangement  was 
really  very  simple ;  while  that  of  the  roof-curtains, 
which  were  more  complicated,  both  in  themselves,  and 
especially  in  the  numeration  of  the  loops,  is  but  once 
given  in  each  account.  Tlie  reason  for  this  lies  not 
merely  in  the  circumstance  that  the  former  are  men- 
tioned earlier  in  the  sacred  narrative,  and  therefore 
more  fully  and  explicitly,  wliile  the  latter,  coming  in 
immediately  afterwards,  are  given  more  briefly  and 
vaguely,  as  if  but  a  repetition  of  the  other  in  all  subor- 
dinate points  not  clearly  specified;  but  it  is  also  be- 
cause definiteness  of  meaning  requires  it.  In  the  case 
of  the  side-curtains,  we  have  at  large  the  color  of  the 
loops  and  their  selvedge  position— two  points,  connect- 
ed by  the  significant  requirement  that  in  both  tiiese 
respects  the  two  sheets  be  exactly  alike;  and  then 
follows  a  more  minute  specification  of  two  particu- 
lars, namely,  the  number  of  the  loops  (the  two  sheets 
again  corresponding  in  this,  but  so  obviously  that  the 
addition  of  "  likewise "  is  unnecessary),  and  their 
sheet  distribution  (this  latter  of  course  also  corres- 
ponding with  the  same  item  previously  stated  in 
another  form) ;  but  to  compensate  for  omitting  "  like- 
wise "  in  this  verse,  the  comprehensive  remark  is  sub- 
joined, that  when  superimposed  on  eacli  other  the 
two  sets  absolutely  isWy.  In  the  case  of  the  more 
summarj'  but  equally  accurate  account  of  the  roof- 
curtains,  on  the  other  hand,  we  have  the  correspond- 
ing elements  of  these  two  propositions  relative  to  each 
sheet  blended,  so  that  there  are  four  facts  of  resemb- 
lance brought  out,  as  before,  but  not  eight,  for  so  many 
do  not  here  exist;  and  the  account,  unless  prolix  in 
minutise  to  a  degree  and  in  a  manner  repugnant  to  this 
document,  must  epitomize  the  account,  leaving  the 
reader  to  make  out  the  meaning  by  a  careful  adjustment 
of  all  the  details  and  the  whole  connection.  Accord- 
ingly we  have  a  succinct  statement  of  the  number  and 
position  of  the  loops  on  each  sheet,  as  the)'  appear 
when  the  sheets  are  put  together  ;  the  color  and  ma- 
terial— tlie  only  different  elements — being  here  taken 


for  granted.  Now  had  the  arrangement  of  the  curtains 
and  their  loops  been  so  similar  as  most  interpreters 
make  them,  the  writer  would  Iiave  simply  repeated 
the  description  of  the  side-curtains  (varying  of  course 
only  the  circumstances  of  material,  size  and  number), 
as  he  does  in  other  instances  of  correspondence  (for 
example,  the  two  altars);  or  he  would  have  simply 
abridged  it,  as  he  does  in  other  instances  (for  example 
the  several  door-screens  and  posts).  But  he  could 
truthfully  do  neither,  because  there  were  important 
differences  to  which  he  must  allude,  however  briefly ; 
and  these  are  accordingly  implied,  but  not  specifically 
dwelt  upon.  It  is  inevitable  that  these  almost  oc- 
cult distinctions  should  create  ambiguity  and  puzzle 
the  student.  For  this  very  reason  we  have  devoted 
so  much  space  to  their  elucidation,  as  they  materially 
affect  the  reconstruction  ;  and  the  conventional  modes 
of  disposing  of  these  curtains,  especially  the  colored 
ones,  have  led  only  to  hopeless  conjectures,  false 
exegesis  and  impracticable  restorations.  This  part  of 
the  structure  has  truly  been  the  pons  asinorum  of  in- 
terpreters. We  have  faithfully  tried  to  guide  the  r.n- 
prejudiced  reader  safely  over  the  quagmire,  ourselves 
thankful  to  have  found  so  stable  footing.  We  are 
now  prepared  therefore  to  present  the  following  as  a 
free  version  giving  the  correct  meaning  of  the  two 
passages  in  parallel  columns. 

Side  curtains  (Exod.  xxvi,  4, 5.)    Boo/ curtains  (Exod.  xx vi,  10'. 

Thou  sh.nlt  make  loops  of  vio-  Thou  shalt  make  fifty  loops 

let  [cord]  on  the  selvpdge  of  the  on   the  selvedse  of  the  under 

under  curtain  [-stuff  ruining  all  curUiii    [-stuff,    incUiding    the 

along]  past  [each]  end  [-seam]  corresponding   portion    of    the 

in  the   [combined]  sheet;   and  piece    sewed]    endwise  in   the 

thou  shalt  do  the  same  on  tlie  [combined]    sheet ;    and    fifty 

selvedge  of  the  curiain  [-stufl",  on  the  selvedge  of  the  curtain 

that  runs  similarly]  endwise  in  [-stuff,  which  forms]  the  upper 

the    upper   [combined]    sheet;  [combined]  sheet  [inchuling  in 

fifty  loops  in  the  under  curtain  like  manner  the  corresponding 

[-stuff],  and   fifty  in    the   end  portion  of  the  endwise  piece], 
[-wise]  curtain  [-stuff]  which  is 
in  the  upper  [combined]  cloth — 
the  loojis  to  coincide  with  each 
other. 

*Not  linsey-woolsey  (the  shaatnez  of  Lev.  xix,  19; 
Dent,  xxii,  11),  in  which  the  thread  is  composed  of 
the.se  two  materials  carded  and  spun  together. 


36 


STRUCTURE   OF   THE    TABERNACLE. 


nacle,"  respectively.  This  would  surely  have  been  an  inappropriate  remark,  if  botli 
had  been  stretched  single  overhead,  as  has  been  done  by  interpreters  from  Josephus 
to  our  own  day.* 

A  notable  dignity,  however,  is  given  to  these  side-curtains,  beyond  the  l>eauty 
of  the  door-way  curtains  so  far  mentioned,  which  they  otherwise  exactly  resembled 
in  fabric,  by  their  embroidery  of  "  cherubim  of  cunning  work  "  (xxvi,  1 ;  xxxvi,  8), 
instead  of  the  simple  tracery  upon  the  other  colored  hangings.  Leaving  the  dis- 
cussion of  the  form  and  character  of  these  figures  till  we  meet  them  as  statues  over 
the  Ark,  we  have  here  to  consider  how  the  curtains  themselves  were  adapted  to  so 
bold  a  delineation,  f    As  they  were  each   twice   as   long  as  the  entire   circuit  of 

the  three  walls,  they  must  in  some  way  liave 
been  gathered  in  (for  the  straight  lines  character- 

*  Tlial  the  dark  goat's-liKir  curtains,  and  the  partj'-colored 
wool-and-linen  ones  were  not  applied  to  tlie  entire  edifice  in 
the  same  manner  is  certain  from  the  distinction  expressly 
made  everywhere  in  the  sacred  text  as  to  their  purpose  and 
use.  The  former  constituted  the  sloping  roof  and  tlie  triangu- 
lar gables  of  its  "tent"  part  {ohel  xxvi,  7,  "for  a  tent  [A.  Y.. 
inexactly  "  covering  "]  upon  the  tabernacle ;  "  11,"  couple  tlie 
tent  togetlier;  "  13,  "  curtains  of  the  tent ;  "  yet  carefully,  vcr. 
13,  the  eave  breadth  only  of  one  cubit  is  to  "hang  over  the 
sides  of  the  tabernacle:  "  and  ver.  12,  similarlj-^  the  rear  gable), 
wliile  the  latter  adorned  the  upright  walls  of  the  "taberna- 
cle "  part  {mishkdn,  vcr.  1,  6).  No  portion  of  either  set  was 
spread  horizontally ;  for  the  building  had  no  floor  but  the 
ground,  and  no  ceiling  but  tlie  roof.  Indeed,  as  even  the  Kii- 
glish  reader  will  see,  a  cloth  stretched  so  as  to  form  a  liori- 
zontal  surface  is  never  called  a  "  curtain ;  "  nor  in  any  otlier 
position  than  a  vertical  one  (partly  so  at  least)  can  it  appro- 
priately be  said  to  be  "  himg."  Note,  however,  that  each  "  cov- 
ering" of  skin  began  at  tlie  top,  [viillemalah)  on  the  "lent"' 
part  (ver.  14),  i.  e.  between  the  two  layers  of  the  roof  cur- 
tains, although,  as  it  continued  downward,  of  course  it  was 
mainly  on  the  upright  walls  of  the  tabernacle.  The  same  dis- 
tinctions are  nicely  repeated  in  the  subsequent  statements 
(xxxvi,  8,  13,  14,  18,  19;  xl,  19). 

f  Imagine  the  depicting  of  such  awfully  mysterious  objects 
in  all  varieties  of  incongruous  and  impossible  attitudes — some 
aslant,  some  horizontal,  some  actually  upside  down,  all  over 
the  ceiling  and  walls  of  a  sanctum  like  this!  Yet  that  would 
certainly  result  from  the  position  ordinarily  assigned  these 
tapestries,  unless  the  figures  were  embroidered  upon  them  so 
displayed  as  to  appear  upright.  If  they  had  l)cen  worked  upon 
the  festooned  port  of  the  curtains  they  must  have  looked  as 
if  decapitated.  This  .shows  the  necessity,  when  reproducing 
the  Tabernacle  in  a  manner  that  could  be  operated,  of  takinjj 
into  account  a  multitude  of  considerations  not  usually  thouglit 
of. 

Fig.  15.— Sootion  of  Wall-plank  with  Attach-  Tlie  special  emphasis  laid  upon  the  injunction,  "See  that 

nients.  thou  make  all  things  according  to  the  pattern  shown  tlice  in 


SIDE    CURTAINS. 


37 


istic  of  the  building  and  especially  of  all  the  other  hangings,  are  not  in  accord  with 
festoons ;  nor  will  the  thick  and  firm  material  admit  of  these).*  The  problem  is  how 
to  arrange  the  folds  in  such  a  manner  as  to  exhibit  the  cherubim  perfectly  and  in  a 
becoming  posture.     They  would  naturally  be  embroidered  crosswise  of  the  cloth,  like 


First  Curtain. 


A 

— 1- 

— T»  •!— 

— ^-W    •!_ 

1    1    !    1 

^^ 


Third  Curtain. 


.A=^ 


(■        ].        V       c       |i        V        c       p       V       c       \> 


p         V        C  p         V         C         [) 


p      V      c       p      V      c      p 


Fifth  Curtain. 


•^    ■     i     '     1     '     !     '     i     1     '     '     I     I     '     !     '     '     1     1     I     '     '     '     I     '     '     I     I 
g    ;    ;     '    •  .         1     '    '     I    ;     1    '         I    '     '    '     '     :    '     '    I         ' 


p     V       C       ]>       V       C       p        V       C       J)       V        c       p       V       c      p       V       c       p       V        C       1>       V       c       p       V        c       p     V 

Fig.  16. — Wall-curtains  E.\tencleJ  and  Furnished  with  Loops. 

Tliree  of  the  curtains  only,  those  at  the  beginning,  the  middle  and  the  end  of  the  series  exposed  to  view,  are  here  exhibited.  The 
intermediate  ones  (the  second  and  the  fourth)  may  easily  be  imagined,  as  they  are  of  similar  character.  (See  Plate  IV,  Z>.)  The  lettei-s 
"  V,"  "  p,"  and  "  c  "  designate  the  violet,  the  purple,  and  the  crimson  stripes  respectively,  which  read  (after  the  Hebrew  order)  from 
right  to  left. 

the  diiferent-colored  bands,  and  would  thus  show  standing,  as  the  breadth  of  the  stuff 
(somewhat  over  6  feet)  would  conveniently  correspond  to  their  height  (supposing 
them  to  have  substantially  a  human  form).  Hence  it  is  important  that  the  folds  of 
the  curtain  should  be  disposed  regularly,  so   that  the  "  fulling  in  "  would  conceal 


llie  Mount,"  as  well  as  its  repetition  on  several 
occasions  (Exod.  xxv,  9,  40;  xxvi,  30;  Num.  viii, 
4),  shows  that  manj'-  minor  details  were  left  out 
of  the  oral  description  to  be  supplemented  by 
that  ocular  exhibit.  Interpreters  are  therefore  war- 
ranted and  even  required  to  exercise  their  ingjenuity 
in  discovering  the  most  natural,  simple,  consistent 
and  effectual  mode  of  supplying  these  particulars.  It 
is  not  sufficient  for  them,  any  more  than  it  was  for  the 
original  fabricators,  to  say  that  the  thing  was  doubt- 
less done  in  some  suitable  way;  the  precise  manner 
must  be  pointed  out  or  else  conjecturally  adopted. 


*  The  heavy  and  hard  ("  double-twisted  ")  thread 
of  the  linen  warp  (which,  it  should  be  noted,  took  all 
the  straiu.  and  tliis  was  very  considerable,  especially 
in  the  door-screens;  certainly  causing  them  to  sng 
greatl}'  but  for  this  fact)  would  partly  bury  itself  in 
the  looser  texture  of  the  woollen  woof  (which  is  not 
said  to  be  "  double-stranded,"  as  it  would  in  that  case 
have  been  too  thick),  but  would  at  the  same  time 
materially  stiffen  these  threads  also.  We  may  furtlier- 
more  observe  that  the  under  course  of  the  side  cur- 
tains would  exactly  follow  the  folds  of  the  outer  one, 
and  thus  aid  in  maintaining  them  in  a  graceful  shape. 


38 


STRUCTURE   OF  THE   TABERNACLE. 


and  distort  the  figures  as  little  as  possible.*  If  the  loops  be  made  of  pieces  of  cord 
each  2|-  cubits  long  (those  in  the  corners  proportionately  less),  with  the  ends  fastened 
on  the  selvedge  the  same  distance  apart  for  each  cord  (so  as  to  open  flat  with  the 
cloth),  and  an  interval  of  |  of  a  cubit  between  the  ends  of  adjoining  cords,  it  will  be 
found  f  that  50  loops  will  exactly  take  up  the  entire  140  X  cubits  of  each  curtain- 


FiG.  17. — AiTaugc'ijient  of  Side  Curtain. 


sheet,  including  4  corner-loops  each  occupying  ^^  of  a  cubit  at  the  ends  and  middle ; 
while  the  folds  will  (except  at  the  corners)  each  be  |  of  a  cubit  wide  (when  hung), 
with  a  nearly  smooth  panel  of  the  same  width  between  them,  sufficient  for  a  cherub 


Finally  tlio  embroidered  figures  would  greatly  stiffen 
the  panels.  We  may  add  that  the  droop  at  the  bot- 
tom of  the  fnlled-in  part  of  the  curtains  would  not 
be  sufficient  to  account  for  the  difference  between 
their  height  and  that  of  the  Vail,  even  if  the  folds 
Included  the  whole  excess  of  length  (i.  e.  without 
any  flat  panels) ;  so  that  long  loops  would  in  any 
case  be  necessarj'. 

*  "We  presume  that  the  cherubim  were  embroidered 
only  on  the  outer  curtain,  as  they  could  not  bo  seen 
on  the  inner  one.    If,  however,  it  be  thought  necessary 


to  have  the  two  precisely  alike,  this  may  be  effected  by 
simply  reversing  the  order  for  the  inner  set  of  cur- 
tains; the  figures  then  appearing  on  the  face  next  to 
tlie  wall,  and  beginning  at  the  southern  front,  where 
they  will  fall  exactly  in  due  place  under  those  of  tlic 
outer  curtain  as  above  detailed.     (See  Fig.  16.) 

f  We  have  proved  tliis  estimate  by  actual  experi- 
ment, and  we  will  (below)  confirm  it  in  a  striking 
niaiuior. 

\  This  number  of  itself,  being  exactlj''  twice  the 
circuit  of  three  sides  of  the  interior  of  the  Sanctuary, 


WALL  CURTAINS. 


39 


with  folded  arms  and  wings,  or  for  the  body  of  one  with  the  wings  extended.*     (The 
annexed  diagrams  will  illustrate  these  measurements,  and  the  method  of  forming  the 


Fio.  18. — Corner-folds  in  Wiillcurtiiins. 


plaits.)     Hence  the  curtains  were  not  so  long  as  those  intended  for  the  roof,  which, 
if  attached  to  each  other  in  the  same  manner,  would  each  yield  10  cubits  more  than 


suggests  that  the  curtains  in  question  were  intended 
to  be  so  applied.  The  degree  of  their  fulness,  how- 
ever, remains  to  be  accounted  for. 

*  It  will  moreover  be  perceived  that  the  loops,  if 
so  adjusted,  will  of  themselves  hold  the  plaits  in  good 
shape,  wheu  the  curtains  are  hung  on  the  knobs. 
They  will  also  show  much  better  with  their  ends 
parted  into  a  triangle  than  if  hanging  straight  down 


from  the  knobs.  The  two  folds  adjoining  each  corner 
will  require  less  cloth  for  a  proportionate  degree  of 
fulling,  on  account  of  the  narrow  spaces  there  afforded, 
as  we  shall  see  presently ;  but  they  will  project  about 
as  much  as  their  neighbors.  The  careful  reader  will 
furthermore  discover  that  the  reduction  of  these 
shorter  plaits  near  the  corners,  togeth^  with  tlie 
lOmission  of  one  entire  plait  (but  not  one  loop)  in  the 


40 


STRUCTURE  OF  THE  TABERNACLE. 


can  be  thus  disposed  of.*  The  number  of  loops  was  determined  by  that  of  the  knobs 
on  wliich  they  M'ere  suspended ;  namely,  50  of  gold  (ver.  6),  and  therefore  smaller 
than  those  of  copper  for  the  outside  of  the  planks,  and  inserted  lower  down,  but  in 
all  other  respects  exactly  corresponding  to  them.  The  number  of  the  knobs  again 
was  fixed  by  that  of  the  planks,  and  is  therefore  20  for  each  side,  6  for  the  rear,  and 


Fig.  19. — Leiigtli  of  Side-loops  1>y  Triangulation. 
The  numbers  indicate  the  proportion  of  the  parts  of  the  triangles. 

2  for  each  corner,  requiring  the  total  of  50,  the  knobs  (except  at  the  corners)  being 
placed  as  near  as  convenient  to  the  front  edge  of  each  side-plank,  and  in  the  middle 
of  each  rear-plank.f  The  height  of  these  knobs  from  the  ground  fixes  the  length 
of  the  loops,  and  will  be  determined  when  we  come  to  consider  that  of  the  inner  Vail. 
4.  The  only  other  articles  mentioned  as  essential  to  be  placed  within  the  front 
apartment  or  Holy  Place  were  three,  which  we  will  here  consider  in  detail. 


very  corner,  precisely  accounts  for  the  fact  that  the 
cubits  in  the  lengtli  of  the  curtains  are  less  than 
three  times  the  number  of  loops  (140  not  150), 
although  each  plait  (with  the  alternate  panel)  requires 
three  cubits  of  cloth.  This  is  proved  by  a  short  cal- 
culation. An  irregular  knob  being  set  in  the  rear 
edges  of  the  last  side-plank  (in  order  to  prevent  the 
curtain  from  passing  the  corner  diagonally,  without 
penetrating  to  tlie  angle  itself),  instead  of  the  adjoin- 
ing side-plank  (there  being  none  such),  there  is  a  loss 
there  (with  respect  to  the  space  usually  covered)  of 
^  of  a  cubit  (i.  e.  twice  the  distance  of  the  knob  from 
the  edge,  whicli  we  put  down  as  ^^  of  a  cubit).  In 
like  manner  tlicre  is  a  loss  of  half  a  cubit  in  the  rear 
part  of  tlie  corner-plank  (f  —  f'j),  tlie  lust  item  being 
llie  half  cubit  of  the  rear  plank  that  shows  inside, 
minus  the  three  spaces  usuall}'  allowed  for  the  knobs 
from  the  edge  of  these  three  consecutive  planks, 
which  here  are  not  saved.  Hence  we  have  the  for- 
mula: 3  X  2  (1  +  J  -f  I  =  If)  =  10.  We  are  the 
first  to  explain  fully  and  satisfactorily  the  cause  of 
this  exact  length  of  these  curtains,  wliich  is  so  singu- 
lar among  the  other  numbers  and  dimensions  of  tlie 
edifice,  and  especially  different  from  that  of  the  roof- 
ciutains.  In  Fig.  19  we  submit  another  matheniutical 
demonstration  of  its  acenf.icy. 


Finallj',  we  may  call  attention  to  the  fact,  under 
this  arrangement,  that  the  edge  of  the  curtains  at  the 
entrance  will  fall  back  a  little  farther  from  the  front 
edge  of  the  first  plank  than  if  the  loops  hung  perpen- 
dicularly, and  this  is  desirable  in  order  to  keep  it  out 
of  the  w'eather;  and  this  again  will  allow  a  closer 
ju.xtaposition  of  the  door-post  to  the  side-wall,  as  is 
helpful  in  order  to  keep  the  former  from  swaying, 
since  thej'  are  not  fastened  together  hy  a  hook  (as 
in  the  case  of  the  Vail). 

*  The  curtains  were  evidently  meant  to  be  "fulled 
in  "  to  exactly  half  their  entire  length.  The  folds  on 
the  inside  of  the  planks  thus  correspond,  by  their  cor- 
rugation, to  the  Heece  on  the  outside ;  and  in  both 
instances,  as  already  pointed  out,  they  are  duplicated. 

■f-  This  calculation  serves  likewise  for  the  copper 
knobs  on  the  outside,  except  that  the  loops  will  there 
be  shorter,  and  both  ends  of  each  fastened  together, 
so  as  to  form  simple  button-holes  (so  to  speak)  closely 
clasping  the  knobs,  and  stretching  the  curtain  per- 
fectly smooth.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  in  both 
sets  of  knobs,  two  will  be  needed  in  each  corner- 
plank,  one  at  the  front  edge,  and  another  at  the  angle, 
in  order  to  keep  the  curtain  uniform.  This  brings 
the  inside  corner  knobs  nearer  their  neighbors,  as 
alrcad3-  taken  into  account.     (Sei  Figs.  11,  16.) 


TABLE  OF  SHOW-BREAD. 


41 


(1.)  The  first  of  these  on  the  right  or  north  side  (probably  about  midway)  was 
tlie  Table  of  Show-bread  *  (Exod.  xl,  22).  It  was  made  of  acacia-wood,  2  cubits  long, 
1  broad,  and  1^  high,f  overlaid  (doubt- 
less the  entire  surface  when  put  together) 
Mdth  gold  (xxv,  23,  24;  xxxvii,  10,  11). 
As  a  table  it  consisted,  of  course,  of  a  top, 
sides,  and  four  legs  ;  the  first  of  the  given 
length  and  breadth,  exclusive  of  an  orna- 
ment to  be  considered  immediately ;  and 
the  last  of  the  given  dimensions,  less  the 
thickness  of  the  top.  This  last  we  may 
estimate  at  somewhat  less  than  what  we 
have  assumed  for  the  boards  of  the  Large 
Altar,  let  us  say  J^  of  a  cubit  (about  1^ 
inch  stuff).  The  top  had  a  "  crown  ":{:  or 
moulding  of  gold  (apparently  wood,  plated 
with  gold),  evidently  running  all  around 
the  edge  (but  outside  of  the  latter),  and 
projecting  above  the  top,  to  keep  articles 
placed  upon  the  table  from  slipping  otf : 
Ave  may  estimate  this  piece  as  the  same 
thickness  (at  the  base,  narrowing  to  one 
lialf  at  the  top),  and  I-  of  a  cubit  (or  about  three  inches)  broad  (i.  e.  projecting  one 
half  its  width  above  the  table-top).  The  sides  are  called  "  a  border  "  §  or  plain  panel, 
being  a  hand-breadth  {\  of  a  cubit)  wide,  and  ornamented  by  another  "  crown  "  or 
moulding  (this  time  hkewise  projecting  out  like  the  other,  and  similarly  placed,  but 
narrower,  so  as  to  be  flush  with  the  bottom  of  the  side,  and  therefore  included  in  its 
breadth),  both  plated  with  gold  (ver.  25).  The  legs  or  "  feet "  (which  we  would 
make  -^  of  a  cubit  square,  their  whole  length),  Avere  apparently  morticed  into  the  sides 
(as  usual  now-a-days) ;  for  in  the  remaining  directions  concerning  a  carrying  apparatus 
(precisely  like  that  of  the  Large  Altar,  except  that  gold  was  to  be  used  instead  of  cop- 
per), the  rings,  evidently  stapled  like  those  of  the  Tabernacle  planks,  are  spoken  of 
as  being  fastened  into  the  tops  belonging  to  (A.  V.  incorrectly  "  on  ")  the  legs,  and 
simply  parallel  with  ("  over  against,"  i.  e.  longitudinally  in  a  line  with)  the  sides  (ver. 


Fig.  20.— Table  of  Sliow-bread  on  the  Arch  of  Titus. 
(From  Eeland.) 


*  Lit.  table  of  the  Face  (i.  e.  Jehovah's  presence),  or 
tabh  of  the  arrangement  (of  loaves);  or  the  pure  table 
(in  distinction  from  a  domestic  or  common  one). 

f  This  proportion  between  the  length  and  the 
lieight  is  accurately  maintained  in  the  sculptured 
form  on  the  Arch  of  Titus.  Oriental  tables,  it  should 
be  remembered,  are  usually  quite  low,  being  adapted 
to  persons  sitting  on  the  floor,  and  not  \ipon 
clinirs. 

X  Heb.  ze?-,  lit.  cincture,  i.  e.  cornice;  used  only  of 


this  ornament  on  the  Table  and  the  Ark,  and  the 
Incensc-altar.  The  Great  Altar  had  no  occasion  for 
this  additional  rim,  as  it  had  no  top  or  cover.  The 
"  cove  "  (or  hollowed  bevel)  of  the  moulding  of  course 
was  on  the  upper  and  outer  side,  making  a  neat 
finish  all  around  the  edge. 

§  Heb.  mhgerelh,  lit.  inchsure;  used  onh'  (as  an 
architectural  term)  of  this  thing,  and  of  a  similar 
panel  on  the  pedestals  of  the  Temple  lavers  (1  Kings 
vii,  28-36;  2  Kings  xvi.  17). 


42 


STRUCTURE   OF   THE   TABERNACLE. 


c£jl 0^ 


26,  27).     The  whole  table,  like  all  the  other  pieces  of  furniture,  was  simple  and  plain 
as  possible,  and  strong  for  service. 

The  bread  placed  upon  the  table  is  called  in  the  Heb.  face  hread  (show-bread), 
because  set  as  before  Jehovah's  presence  (ver,  30).     Particulars  concerning  this  are 

given  in  Lev.  xxiv,  5-9.  It  was  made  of  fine  (wheat) 
Hour,*  baked  in  twelve  loaves,t  containing  each  one  fifth 
of  an  ephah  of  flour  (or  about  four  quarts),  which,  if  as 
spongy  as  good  raised  bread,  would  yield  an  enormous 
bulk,  but  probably,  being  more  compact,  was  much  less 
in  size,  say  12  inches  in  diameter  and  4  inches  thick — 
still  a  large  family  loaf.  X  They  were  arranged  "  (in) 
two  rows,  six  (to)  the  row,"  §  which  Jewish  tradition,  as 
well  as  the  dimensions  of  the  table,  indicates  to  mean  in 
two  piles  of  six  each,  set  of  course  lengthwise  of  the 
table ;  and  thus  if  the  piles  were  in  immediate  contact 
with  one  another  (as  the  necessity  of  mutual  support  in 
so  tall  a  column,  and  the  close  association  of  the  12  tribes 
thereby  symbolized,  would  indicate),  they  would  leave  a 
free  margin  of  4^  inches  at  each  side,  and  9  inches  at  each  end  (exactly  proportional 
to  the  respective  dimensions  of  the  table-surface,  and  the  Avhole  a  shapely  mass  2  feet 
long,  2  high,  and  1  foot  broad).  It  is  generally  conceded  that  the  loaves  were  placed 
upon  the  baref  table,  without  any  plate  or  cloth.  They  were  removed  every  Sabbath 
to  bo  eaten  by  the  priests  exclusively  (and  tliat  in  the  Sanctuary  only);  and  were  then 
i-eplaced  by  fresh  loaves  (1  Sam.  xxi,  6),  which  had  been  prepared  over  night  by  the 
Levites  (1  Chron.  ix,  32).     (See  Plate  Y,  F.) 

No  other  substance  1"  is  mentioned  as  being  set  upon  the  table,  except  "  pure  "  ** 
frankincense,  which,  as  it  is  said  to  be  placed  "  upon  each  [lit.  "  the  "]  row,"  ff  but 
only  "  to  [or  "  for  "]  the  bread  "  (ver.  7,  where  the  A.  Y.  incorrectly  renders  the 


!) 


Pig.  21. — Transverse  Section  of  the 
Table  of  Show- bread. 


*  Doubtless  unleavened,  but  beaten  up  light,  like 
*'  Mar3'land  biscuit." 

f  A.  V.  "cakes,"  Heb.  sing,  challdh,  lit.  perforated 
(affording  color  to  the  idea  that  it  was  punctured,  as 
sacrificial  cakes  were  among  some  ancient  nations ;  or 
more  likely,  as  is  often  done  by  modern  bakers,  who 
prick  biscuits,  partly  for  ornament,  and  partly  because 
the  steam  is  supposed  to  escape  the  more  easily  in 
baking),  used  only  of  sacrificial  cakes  (or  as  in  2  Sam. 
vi,  19,  of  something  resembling  them);  tiierefore  not 
the  ordinary  thin  wafer-like  loaf  of  Oriental  bread, 
yet  doubtless  roimd  and  flat,  but  much  thicker  and 
more  daintily  put  up.  The  best  idea  of  tiiese  cakes 
is  perliaps  afforded  by  similar  sacred  loaves  repre- 
sented on  tlie  Kgj'ptiau  monuments  (see  Wilkinson, 
Anc.  Egyptiam,  i,  266,  where  nearly  ail  tlie  articles 
and  utensils  enumerated  in  the  Scriptiu-e  list  as  be- 
longing to  the  Table  of  show-bread  arc  depicted) ;  we 


must  be  on  our  guard,  however,  against  supposing 
that  these  are  the  models  of  those  in  the  Taber- 
nacle. 

\  Five  of  them  were  sufficient  for  hungry  David 
and  his  companions,  perhaps  for  several  meals  (1  Sam. 
xxi,  1-6). 

§  Heb.  maareketh,  lit.  arrangement,  used  only  of 
this  particular  thing,  and  hence  (as  seen  above)  taken 
at  last  to  denote  it  teclinically. 

II  Hob.  tahor,  "pure,"  i.  e.  in  this  case  naked. 

Tf  A  dish  of  salt  appears  to  have  been  added  ui  later 
times,  according  to  the  Septuagint  and  Philo  (comp. 
Lev.  ii,  13,  which,  however,  refers  to  sacrifices  on 
the  Altar  of  Burnt-offering). 

**  Heb.  zak,  unadulterated,  like  the  transparent  oil 
used  for  the  candelabrum  (Lev.  x.xiv,  2). 

ff  We  observe  incidentally  that  this  confirms  the 
above  arrangement  of  the  loaves  in  piles. 


VESSELS  OF  THE  TABLE.  43 

latter  preposition  "  on  "),  appears  to  have  been  (as  was  most  appropriate)  deposited 
not  directly  npon  the  loaves  themselves,  but  in  vessels  for  that  purpose,  where  it  C(jnld 
be  conveniently  renewed  as  fast  as  it  should  be  consumed  by  the  daily  ministrations  at 
the  Altar  of  Incense  (ver.  7).  These  vessels  are  doubtless  the  same  as  the  censers  * 
(mentioned  in  the  same  connection,  A.  V.  "spoons"),  i.  e.  incense-cups,  not  employed 
for  burning  the  incense  in  (which  was  done  in  fire-pans,  and  moreover  this  was  merely 
frankincense),  but  smaller  than  the  receptacles  of  the  same  name  presented  by  the 
phylarchs  at  the  dedication  (Num.  vii,  14  and  following)  for  keeping  the  incense  in 
l)ull?.  A  different  set  of  utensils  connected  Math  the  Tal)le  were  jarsf  (A.  V. 
*'  dishes  "),  evidently  for  the  oil  used  to  replenish  the  candelabrum  adjacent,  similar 
to  the  larger  silver  vessels  of  the  same  name  (A.  Y.  "  chargers  ")  presented  by  the 
phylarchs  on  the  above  occasion,  which  also  contained  oil  (Num.  vii,  13,  etc.).  They 
l)robably  were  tall  vessels  with  a  narrow  mouth  for  emptying.  Another  kind  of 
utensil  were  jugs  %  (A.  Y.  "  covers  "),  which,  as  they  were  used  to  make  libations  with 
(A.  Y.  "  to  cover  withal  "),  were  doubtless  for  wine,  §  with  a  spout  for  pouring  ;  and 
closely  connected  with  them  were  still  a  different  class  of  vessels,  perhaps  smaller 
pitchers  |  (A.  Y.  "  bowls  "),  for  the  immediate  sacrificial  act.  None  of  these  vessels 
seem  to  have  had  either  handle  or  cover,  although  most  of  them  might  be  thought  to 
require  closing  in  order  to  keep  out  flies,  dust  and  other  impurities  ;  and  especially 
the  incense-cups,  to  prevent  evaporation  of  the  aromatic  powder.  It  must  l)e  borne 
in  mind,  however,  that  a  cover  would  be  inconvenient  for  the  priest  to  remove,  and 
the  vessels  appear  to  have  been  intended  to  hold  only  a  comparatively  small  quantity 
at  a  time.  The  saucers  for  the  frankincense  would  diffuse  a  pleasant  odor  during  the 
week,  and  what  was  left  in  them  was  burned  (on  the  Great  Altar)  every  Sabbath  (ver. 
7-9),  together  with  what  was  not  eaten  of  the  stale  loaves.  Indeed  there  was  not 
room  for  large  utensils  on  the  Table,  but  as  there  would  a;ppear  to  have  been  but  two 
(the  plural  is  used  of  them  all)  of  each  kind  (that  number  being  stated  with  regard  to 
the  incense  cups,  which,  however,  were  set  on  the  top  of  the  piles  of  bread),  we  may 
readily  accommodate  one  of  each  of  the  three  other  kinds  on  either  end  of  the  Table.^^ 
All  these  vessels  were  of  gold  entirely  pure,  as  was  the  overlaying  of  the  Table  itself, 
and  indeed  all  the  gold  employed  in  the  Sanctuary  and  its  apparatus.** 


*  Heb.  sing,  kaph,  lit.  the  palm  of  the  liand,  a 
saucer. 

f  Heb.  sing,  kedrdh,  lit.  deep  vessels,  spoken  only 
of  this  article,  mentioned  above  and  in  the  parallel 
list,  Num.  iv,  7. 

:{  Heb.  sing,  kasah,  lit.  a  round  vessel,  spol<en  only 
of  this  article  as  mentioned  in  these  passages  and  in 
1  Chron.  xxviii,  17  (A.  V.  "cups"). 

§'\Vine  was  poured  out  as  a  libation  (Heb.  nesek,  a 
pouring,  A.  V.  "drink-offering,"  as  unfortunate  a  ren- 
dering as  "  meat-offering  "  for  an  oblation  of  flour) 
in  connection  with  many  sacrifices  on  the  Great 
Altar.  To  drink  wine  within  the  sacred  precincts 
was  a  capital  crime  (Lev.  x,  9). 


II  Heb.  sing,  menakkith,  lit.  libation  cups,  occurring 
only  of  this  article  in  this  passage  and  in  Jer.  Hi, 
19. 

^  Tlie  two  bowl-sliaped  utensils  depicted  as  stand- 
ing upon  tlie  table  of  show-bread  on  the  Arch  of 
Titus  at  Rome  are  regarded  by  Edersheim  ( 77(e  Temple, 
etc.,  p.  134)  as  tlic  mortars  used  for  compounding  the 
sacred  incense.  If  intended  to  represent  the  vessels 
for  oil  anil  wine  regularly  set  on  the  table,  they  are 
of  a  much  later  pattern  than  those  of  the  Tab- 
ernacle. 

**  Some  alloy  (to  harden  the  metal)  might  be  neces- 
sary in  the  plates  of  the  Tabernacle  walls,  which  wers 
subject  to  great  wear. 


44 


STRUCTURE   OF   THE    TABERNACLE. 


(2)  Tlie  next  piece  of  furniture  that  we  meet  in  glancing  around  the  Holy  Place 
is  the  Altar  of  Incense,  which  stood  in  the  middle  line,  immediately  in  front  of  the 
Vail  that  separated  the  room  from  the  Most  Holy  (Exod.  xxx,  6  ;  xl,  5  ;  Lev.  xvi, 
18),  a  position  which  is  further  proved  by  the  fact  that  incense  was  daily  offered  upon 
it  by  an  ordinary  priest  (Exod,  xxx,  7-10),  whereas  the  Holy  of  Holies  was  entered 
but  once  a  year  by  the  high-priest  alone.  Yet  it  was  popularly  i-eckoned  as  belong- 
ing to  the  Most  Holy  Place  (1  Kings  vi,  22  ;  Heb.  ix.  4),  apparently  on  account  of 
its  great  sanctity.    (See  Plate  Y,  B.) 

In  construction  (Exod.  xxx,  1-5  ;  xxxvii,  25-28)  it  was  very  similar  to  the  Table 
of  Show-bread,  being  a  simple  box  (probably  of  boards  of  the  same  thickness),  two 
cubits  high,  with  a  top  (destitute  of  a  grate,  because  no  iire  came  directly  in  contact 
with  it),  one  cubit  square,  and  horns  (precisely  like  the  Large  Altar) ;  and  was  en- 
tirely overlaid  with  gold  (doubtless  inside  and  out).  It  had  a  moulding  around  the 
edge  (but  none  below  this),  and  rings  with  staves  to  carry  it,  exactly  like  the  Table  of 
Show-bread.*  There  were  no  ntensils  specially  belonging  to  it.  The  only  use  made 
of  it  was  to  burn  incense  npon  it  every  morning  and  evening  (as  above). 

(3.)  On  the  left  or  south  side  of  the  Holy  Place,  directly  opposite  the  Table  of 
Show-bread  (Exod.  xl,  24),t  stood  the  third  piece  of  furniture;  namely,  the  Candela- 
brum (A.  Y.  "candlestick"),  the  construction  of  which  is  minutely  described  (xxv, 
31-40;  xxxvii,  17-24).  It  was  hammered  round,:}:  out  of  sheets  §  of  pure  gold,  and 
weighed  (inclusive  of  its  ntensils)  one  talent  (i.  e.  136.4  pounds  avoirdupois).  The 
mode  of  its  manufacture  indicates  that  it  Avas  hollow,  and  Josephus  affirms  that  this 
was  the  case  {Antiq.  Ill,  vi,  7).  ||  Its  size  is  not  given,  but  Jewish  tradition  assigns  it 
a  height  of  about  5  feet,  and  a  breadth  of  about  3|-.  On  the  Arch  of  Titus  it  meas- 
ures 2  feet  and  9  inches  high  by  2  feet  broad  ;  but  the  figures  there  dehneated  are 
not  life  size,  and  the  proportion  with  the  Table  of  Show-bread  on  the  same  sculpture, 
as  well  as  with  the  men  there  exhibited,  yields  a  size  about  the  same  as  the  above 
tradition.  We  may  therefore  fix  the  entire  height  (including  the  base)  at  about  three 
cubits,  and  the  entire  breadth  (spread  of  arms)  at  about  two  cubits.     This  would  be 


*  From  the  fact  tliat  the  rings  in  this  case  are  stated 
to  have  been  set  '•  beneatli  the  moulding-corners," 
which  is  not  said  of  tlie  other  pieces  of  furni- 
ture so  equi^)ped,  we  conchidethat  there  was  a  slight 
space  between  them  in  those  cases,  but  none  in  this. 
The  reason  for  this  difference  was  not  simply  because 
the  Altar  of  Incense  was  the  smallest,  but  because 
the  Table  of  Show-bread  had  two  such  mouldings,  and 
the  bar  would  be  symmetricallj'  placed  half-way  be- 
tween them  ;  while  the  Great  Altar  had  no  moulding 
at  all ;  and  in  the  case  of  the  Ark,  although  it  liad 
but  one  moulding,  and  that  in  the  same  place  as  the 
others,  j'ct  the  staples  for  the  rings  would  have  come 
so  near  the  upper  edge  of  the  side  (not  there 
strengthened  by  a  top  fastened  to  them),  as  to  l)c  in 
danger  of  tearing  awa}'  the  wood,  especially  since  the 
honvj-  stoue  tables  of  the  L;iw  were  to  be  carried  inside. 


f  From  this  language,  in  the  absence  of  any  ex- 
plicit statement,  as  well  as  from  the  congruit^v  with 
the  dimensions  of  the  room,  and  with  convenience  in 
serving,  we  conclude  that  the  position  of  both  these 
pieces  of  furniture  was  with  their  length  running  east 
and  west. 

:j:  Heb.  mikshdh  (A.  V,  "  beaten  work "),  which 
seems  lit.  to  mean  rounded,  like  a  pillar  (Jer.  x,  5,  A. 
v.  "  upright ")  ;  applied  also  to  the  silver  trumpet-* 
(A.V.  "of  one"  or  a  "whole  piece")  and  to  the  cheru- 
bim on  the  Merc}'-seat. 

§  The  parts  might  perhaps  have  been  cast  as  plain 
tubes,  but  they  could  then  not  have  been  wrought 
into  shape,  for  no  anvil  could  have  been  introduced 
into  their  sinuosities. 

II  This  view  is  corroVwrated  by  the  term  (Heb. 
kaneli,  lit.  a  reed)  used  for  the  "  branches." 


GOLDEN  CANDELABRUM. 


43 


suitable  to  its  location  and  use.  As  to  its  general  form,  the  principal  question  is, 
whether  the  arms  were  in  the  same  plane  and  of  equal  height ;  and  this  may  be  re- 
garded as  settled  in  the  affirmative  by  the  repi-esentation  on  the  Arch  of  Titus,  which, 
although  copied  from  that  of  the  llerodian  Temple,*  is  doubtless  a  correct  transcript 


Fig.  22. — Candelabrum  on  tlie  Arch  of  Titus.   (From 
Eeland.) 


Fig.  23. — Concentric  Arrangrement  of 
the  Enlargements  of  the  Candelabrum. t 


*  Tradition  asserts  that  tliis  candelabrum,  after  un- 
dergoing various  migrations  from  Rome  to  foreign 
lands  and  back  again,  was  finally  lost  in  tlie  Tiber 
during  an  invasion  of  the  Gauls.  (See  the  original 
authorities  and  their  language  in  full,  as  cited  by 
Reland,  De  Spoliis  TempU,  chap.  13.)  At  all  events  it  is 
certain  that  the  sculptor  must  have  had  the  original 
or  a  careful  drawing  of  it  before  him.  If  it  be  thought 
that  Titus  would  scarcely  have  had  time  to  remove 
the  candelabrum  from  the  Holy  Place  (although  he 
seems  to  have  done  so  with  the  Table  of  Show-bread) 
during  his  hasty  survey  of  the  sacred  apartments 
while  the  rapid  conHagration  was  in  progress  (Jo- 
sephus,  Wars  of  the  Jeiv.s,  VI,  iv,  7),  the  one  actually 
rescued  and  represented  on  his  arch  may  possibly  be 
one  of  those  which  tradition  reports  as  the  present  of 
the  convert  to  Judaism,  Helena,  queen  of  Adiabene, 
which   were   kept   in  an  ante-room  of  the   Temple 


porch.  This  may  perhaps  account  for  its  difference 
from  tlie  Mosaic  type.  But  in  any  case  it  must  be 
borne  in  mind  that  the  postexilian  candelabrum  was 
but  a  reproduction  from  memory  of  that  in  the  Tab- 
ernacle. 

f  It  will  bo  perceived  that  each  section  of  the  sem- 
icircles of  whicli  these  lines  are  the  radii  (like  a  fel- 
loe in  a  half-wheel  of  which  the  lines  are  the  spokes) 
is  composed  of  two  members:  the  shank  (a  plain 
tube)  and  the  bulb  (or  swell),  and  that  each  has  a 
third  part  or  base  (a  circular  double  tiange,  as  a 
means  of  connection,  hence  an  actual  joint)  only 
where  it  is  united  to  a  different  kind  of  piece ;  namely, 
at  the  bottom  and  top  of  the  central  shaft  and  of  the 
six  arms,  including  the  intersections  of  the  shaft  with 
the  arms.  There  were  tlierefore  exactly  10  (screwed) 
joints  (covered  by  as  many  caps)  in  the  entire  piece 
(exclusive  of  the  seven   movable  insertions  of  the 


46 


STRUCTURE   OF  THE   TABERNACLE. 


of  the  Sinaitic  one,  except  in  its  ornamental  features  (especially  the  octagonal  base, 
with  figured  panels).     (See  Plate  V,  E^ 

In  detail  the  candelabrunt  consisted  of  three  parts,  each  of  which  was  made  of  a 
single  piece  of  metal ;  namely,  a  straight  central  stem,  three  pairs  of  semicircular 
branches  on  either  side,  and  seven  burners  ;  each  of  the  first  seven  components  being 
a  round  pipe  with  three  kinds  of  ornamental  enlargements  at  certain  points,  corres- 
ponding to  each  other  in  a  radiate  manner ;  all  these  elements  being  substantially 
represented,  in  a  more  ornate  style,  on  the  Arch  of  Titus.*  The  main  axis  (Heb. 
yarek,  lit.  thigh^  A.  V.  "  shaft  ")  was  no  doubt  spread  out  (like  a  trumpet)  at  the  base, 
in  order  to  give  a  firm  support.  It  had  four  swellings  (Heb.  sing,  gebia^i  lit.  curva- 
ture, A.  V.  "  bowl "),  which  were  almond-shaped  (i.  e.  the  nut  [not  the  blossom, 
for  wliich  this  term  is  never  used],  or  ovate,  or  tapering  from  a  head,  hke  a  goblet 
or  wine-cup,  for  which  the  former  word  is  elsewhere  used.  Gen.  xliv,  2-17 ;  Jer. 
XXXV,  5),  and  are  named  first  as  rising  immediately  from  the  base  and  from  the  three 
intersections  of  the  branches,  and  therefore  are  found  (but  only  three  of  them)  on 
each  branch  also  as  springing  from  the  intersection  like  a  new  base.f  (See  Fig.  24.) 
Next  in  order  on  the  main  shaft  at  these  intersections  respectively  are  the  same 
number  of  coronets  (Heb.  sing,  kaphtor,  lit.  chaplet,  A.  Y.  "  knop  "),  i.  e.  doubly-flar- 
ing circlets,  like  the  capital  of  a  column  (Amos  ix,  1 ;  Zeph.  ii,  14),  evidently  below 
the  intersection  of  the  branches,  as  they  do  not  appear  on  the  branches  themselves 
(except  one  at  the  summit,  as  a  fresh  departure),  but  corresponding  to  the  expanded 
base  (a  single  flange  as  terminal  in  this  direction).:}:  Once  more  there  was  a  like 
number  of  finials  (Heb.  sing,  perach,  lit.  blossom,  A.  Y.  "  flower  "),  like  a  bud  just 
ready  to  burst  into  bloom  (Isa.  v,  24  ;  xviii,  5  ;  Nah.  i,  4  ;  besides  an  architectural  or- 
nament of  a  like  form  in  the  Temple,  1  Kings  vii,  20  ;  2  Chron.  iv,  5),  i.  e.  globes  or 
receptacles  for  the  arms  and  burners  ;  and  these  (which  of  course  belong  to  the 
branches  likewise)  we  have  drawn  in  a  bulb-like  form  with  a  corolla,  aided  by  the 


lamps  in  tlieir  sockets),  namely,  the  triple  one  at 
each  of  the  three  intersections  (where  the  ends  of 
the  arms  passed  through  the  shaft  on  either  side  [as 
the  flange  or  "  knop "  permitted  by  widening  the 
neck  of  the  shaft  just  at  tliat  point ;  at  the  same  time 
bracing  the  end  of  the  arm],  and  were  screwed  into 
each  other),  and  the  four  junctions  of  the  almond- 
shaped  '•  bowls  "  with  the  terminal  "  flowers."  The 
"  knops  "  or  joint-covers  are  accordingly  an  integral 
part  of  the  compound  '"  bowls"  or  whole  pieces,  that 
support  the  entire  segment.  If  (as  we  have  sup- 
posed) the  pieces  were  made  of  sheets,  there  would 
be  a  seam  the  whole  length  of  each,  which  would  of 
course  be  on  the  back-side  of  the  shaft,  and  on  the  inner 
curve  of  tliearms.  Tliese  might  be  soldered  togetlier 
(and  the  screws  at  the  joints  likewise  be  thus  dis- 
pensed with),  if  the  art  of  soldering  gold  were  then 
known. 
♦Josephus  explicitly  stales  {Wars,  VII,  v,  5)  that 


the  candelabrum  displayed  by  Titus  at  his  triumph 
differed  considerably  in  some  particulars,  but  never- 
theless it  must  have  been  substantially  of  the  nor- 
mal type. 

f  This  appears  to  be  the  meaning  in  xxv,  35 ;  xxxvii, 
21 ;  for  if  the  end  of  the  branch  were  inserted  simply 
into  the  stem,  it  would  have  cut  it  entirely  in  two, 
both  being  doubtless  of  the  same  diameter.  We  have 
therefore  inserted  the  arms  into  the  "  flower "  (of 
which,  as  well  as  the  "  knop,"  there  are  said  to  be 
four  [i.  e.  one  at  each  intersection,  and  one  at  the  top] 
in  the  shaft,  but  only  one  in  each  arm  [i.  e.  at  the 
top]),  which  affords  a  sufficient  enlargement  at  the  in- 
tersection (i.  e.  not  above  it  [for  then  there  would  have 
been  at  least  two  on  each  arm],  nor  yet  [like  the 
"  knops  "J  below  it). 

J  The  same  meaning  attaches  to  the  proper  Tiame 
Caphtiir,  from  the  chaplet-like  form  of  the  island 
Crete  or  (still  belter)  Cyprus. 


ORNAMENTS  OF  THE  CANDELABRUM. 


47 


splierical  remains  on  tlie  Arch  of  Titus.  Finally  come  the  lamps  themselves  (Helx 
sing,  ner,  lit.  a  light,  often  used  of  a  "  lamp  "),  which  of  course  were  of  the  type  uni- 
versally prevalent  in  the  East;  a  flat,  round  or  oval  dish  (usually  of  terra-cotta,  but  here 
of  gold),  with  a  handle  (like  that  of  a  cup)  at  the  blunt  end,  and  a  hole  for  the  wick 
at  the  pointed  end,  while  in  a  depression  between  is  a  larger  central  hole  for  pouring 
in  the  oil.     In  the  present  case  we  presume  they  were  deepened  into  a  cylindrical  form 


Fig.  24.— Comparison  of  each  of  the  Enhirgements  on  tlie  Candelabrum  with  its  natural  Type, 
a.  Almond  (1)  and  "  bowl "  (2) ;  b.  Chaplet  (1)  and  "  knop "  (2) ;  c.  Bud  (1)  and  "  flower "  (2). 

at  the  base,  so  as  to  fit  in  the  lamp-holders  at  the  tops  of  the  Candelabrum,  and  not 
easily  fall  off.*  The  wick  was  made  of  threads  of  linen  (from  the  cast-off  pontifical 
garments,  it  is  traditionally  said),  and  tlie  oil  was  from  hand-crushed  and  cold-strained 
olives  (Exod.  xxvii,  20).  The  lamps  were  lighted  at  the  time  of  the  evening  sacrifice 
(Exod.  XXX,  8),  and  extinguished,  filled  and  trimmed  at  the  time  of  the  morning  sacri- 
fice (Exod.  XXX,  7  ;  1  Sam.  iii,  3).  They  are  traditionally  believed  to  have  held  each 
half  a  "  log,"  i.  e.  a  little  more  than  half  a  pint.     (See  Fig.  25.) 

The  utensils  mentioned  for  this  last-named  service,  being  those  already  referred 
to  as  made  out  of  the  same  gold  as  the  candlestick  itself,  were  shovels  (Heb.  sing. 
machtdh,  lit.  coal-jyan,  A.  Y.  "  snuff-dish,"  being  the  same  word  used  for  the  [copjier] 
fire-pans  of  the  Great  Altar,  Exod.  xxvii,  3,  etc.;  the  [gold]  one  of  the  yearly  atone- 


*Such  seem  to  be  represented  on  the  monuments  of  Egypt  (Wilkinson,  Anc.  E'jyptians,  2nd  ser.,  ii,  SVG). 


48 


STRUCTURE   OF   THE   TABERNACLE. 


ment,  Lev.  xvi,  12 ;  and  "  censers  "  generally),  i.  e.  vessels  for  Ijringing  live  coals 
from  the  Great  Altar  with  ;  and  tongs  (Heb.  always  dual,  iiudkachdyim,  lit.  double 
takers),  i.  e.  tweezers  for  pulling  up  the  wick,  and  holding  the  coal  while  blowing  it 
to  light  the  lamp.  These  utensils  were  carried  by  the  officiating  priest  to  the  Court, 
where  the  tongs  would  be  cleansed,  and  the  coal-pan  refilled  for  further  use. 

(4.)  The  only  remaining  articles  belonging  to  the  Holy  Place  are  the  two  Silver 
Trumpets  *  used  to  announce  a  removal  of  the  camp,  special  festivals,  the  Year  of 
Jubilee,  M-ar,  or  any  other  other  notable  event  (Num.  x,  2-10,  etc.),  which  M-ere  to  be 
of  a  single  piece  (probably  manufactured  like  the  pipes  of  the  Candelabrum).  They 
were  straight  (Josephus,  Ant.  Ill,  xi,  6),  as  represented  on  the  Arch  of  Titus,  where 
they  are  exhibited  as  about  equal  to  each  other  in  average  diameter,  but  unequal  in 
length,  one  being  (as  compared  witli  the  dimensions  of  the  Tal)le  of  Show-bread,  on 


Fig.  25. --Lamp  (a)  and  its  Socket  (6). 

which  they  are  represented  as  leaning  diagonally,  supported  by  a  sort  of  bracket  at- 
tached for  that  purpose  to  the  middle  of  the  opposite  legs  on  one  side)  f  about  3  cu- 
bits long,  and  the  other  only  |  as  long  or  about  2  cubits  (Reland's  measurements  and 
view  do  not  precisely  agree  with  the  photograph) ;  while  the  minimum  diameter  of 
both  is  about  -^  of  a  cubit  (or  1^  inches),  and  the  maximum  -jV  of  a  cubit  (or  7^ 
inches);  the  longer  one  tapering  almost  gradually  to  about  the  middle  and  then 
slightly  enlarging  towards  the  mouth-end,  while  the  shorter  one  contracts  at  first  rap- 
idly, and  after  the  middle  enlarges  considerably.  This  difference  in  the  size  of  the 
trumpets  is  so  unexpected  (as  there  is  no  allusion  to  it  in  any  record,  and  it  would 
have  occasioned  a  difference  in  sound),  that  we  must  attribute  it  to  foreshortening  in 
the  perspective,  which  the  sculptor  introduced,  and  the  camera  has  enhanced ;  and  we 
therefore  strike  an  average  of  ^  cubits  (about  four  feet)  for  the  length  of  each.  They 
would  give  a  clear  shrill  note  loud  enough  to  be  heard  throughout  the  camp. 

5.  We  have  reserved  for  convenient  consideration  here  together  some  additional 
matters  connected  with  all  this  sacred  apparatus. 


*Heb.  sing,  chatsotserdh.  lit.  a  quivering  reverberation, 
used  only  for  an  iilarm,  or  public  signal,  sometimes  of 
joy.     (See  Plate  V,  C.) 


f  Evidently  meant  for  the  front;  an  additional  con- 
firmation of  tlie  position  of  the  Table  longitudinally 
in  the  Sanctuar}'. 


METAL  r LATINO. 


49 


(1.)  The  metallic  sheets,  whether  <^)f  copper  or  gold,  could  most  conveniently  he 
hiid  on  after  the  wooden  work  was  put  together,  and  would  serve  to  liold  the  angles 
firm.  These  laminae  must  have  been  beaten  out  with  a  hammer  (in  the  absence  of 
rolling-mills),  and  therefore  have  been  comparatively  small,  as  well  as  somewhat 
uneven  in  surface.  Hence  they  w^ere  probably  fastened  on  with  nails  of  the  same 
material  (as  soldering  would  have  been  inconvenient,  and  was  perhaps  unknown  with 
such  metals) ;  and  if  these  were  made  with  counter-sunk  heads,  like  modern  screws, 
they  might  be  driven  home  flush  with  the  surface.  The  numerous  joints  or  seams 
thus  formed  would  greatly  strengthen  the  fabric,  and  as  the  boards  themselves 
(especially  the  planks  of  the  Tabernacle  walls,  which  were  similarly  "  overlaid  ")  were 
so  wide  as  to  require  to  be  made  of  several  pieces  of  wood  (no  doubt  dowelled  together), 
their  joints  would  thus  be  effectively  covered  and  held  together.  The  thickness  of 
these  metallic  plates  is  likewise  left  to  the  feasibility  of  the  case ;  fortunately  both 
copper  and  gold  are  the  most  malleable  of  the  metals  then  known. 

Another  inference  from  the  foregoing  premises  is  that  the  staples  for  the  rings 
(to  receive  the  cross-bars  of  the  Tabernacle  walls,  and  the  bearing-poles  of  three  of 
the  pieces  of  furniture),  as  well  as  the  "  taches  "  or  knobs  (in  the  former),  were  bolted 
in  and  riveted  before  the  "  overlaying  "  sheets  were  applied,  as  they  would  otherwise 
be  likely  to  come  in  the  way  of  nails,  and  moreover  would  be  unsightly  protuberances 
on  the  surface,  especially  the  copper  ends  of  the  "  taches,"  showing  inside  the  Sanctu- 
ary on  the  face  of  the  gold.* 

(2.)  As  to  convenience  in  packing  for  transportation,  these  rings  and  knobs 
would  not  need  to  be  removed,  as  the  Tabernacle  planks  would  be  smooth  on  the 
inner  side,  and  thus  could  lie  flat  on  the  bottom  of  the  vehicle ;  or  still  better,  if  the 
wagon  were  without  a  bottom,  the  planks  might  be  laid,  face  downward,  on  the  axle 
or  bolster ;  and  a  second  tier,  face  upward,  over  these.f  The  vehicles  of  the  ancients, 
and  especially  those  of  the  Egyptians,  were  properly  carts  with  two  wheels  only,  and 
even  these  must  have  had  rough  travelling  in  the  trackless  and  often  steep  as  well  as 
tortuous  defiles  of  the  Desert.     A  wagoii^X  however,  with  four  wheels  and  two  axles. 


*  Paine  infers  (new  ed.,  p.  92),  from  the  special 
mention  of  these  knobs  among  the  various  articles 
«s  coinpldtd  (Exod.  xxxix,  33),  that  they  were  sepa- 
rable, i.  e.  ke.yed  on  the  back-side,  and  not  riveted 
fast.  This,  however,  would  be  an  inconvenient  cir- 
cumstance, exposing  them  to  be  lost  in  transporta- 
tion, and  requiring  unnecessary  waste  of  time  in 
taking  them  out  and  replacing  them  at  each  journey. 
His  conclusion  that  they  permanently  belonged  to 
the  planks,  from  their  constant  and  close  mention 
together,  is  forcible.  In  tlie  personal  inventory 
("by  name,"  Num.  iv,  32)  of  the  articles  packed  and 
consigned  for  transportation  (ili,  36),  they  are  not 
separately  enumerated,  as  are  the  sockets,  the  bars, 
the  tent-pins  and  the  cords. 

f  Strips  of  wood,  perhaps  covered  with  cloths  or 
skins,  were  probably  placed  between  the  planka  so 


as  to  prevent  chafing.  The  tablets  and  other  articles 
within  the  Ark  were  no  doubt  kept  wrapped  in  linen 
cloths,  which  would  ease  tlie  jolt  in  moving. 

l  Heb.  agaldh,  lit.  '^ trolling  thing  "(Num.  vii.  3-8), 
an  Egyptian  curricle  (Gen.  xlv,  19-27),  elsewhere 
rendered  "cart,"  as  in  fact  it  generally  was.  Since 
the  silver  sockets  alone  (to  say  nothing  of  the  copper 
ones)  weighed  6  gross  tons  (100X136.4  pounds),  some 
special  mode  of  conveyance  must  have  been  provided 
for  them,  beyond  the  six  vehicles  appropriated  to  the 
wooden  and  tlie  fibrous  parts  of  the  edifice  and  its 
court.  Perhaps  the  Kohathiles  (who  were  the  most 
numerous  of  tiie  Levites,  and  liad  only  the  light  bur- 
den of  the  sacred  vessels)  aided  their  brethren  the 
Merarites  (who  were  the  smallest  branch  of  the 
Levitical  tribe,  and  yet  had  the  heaviest  charge)  in 
transporting  these  weighty  (but  not  bulky)  articles. 


so 


STRUCTURE    OF   TUE    TABERNACLE. 


would  have  been  much  more  suitable  for  tlie  present  purpose,  as  affording  a  stable 
support,  and  being  less  liable  to  jostle  and  overturn,  especially  for  the  long  planks 
and  poles.  In  either  case  the  load  would  have  to  be  bound  together  by  cordage,  and 
for  this  the  stay-ropes  would  be  at  liand.  The  furniture  was  equipped  for  the 
porterage  by  hand,  two  men  for  tlie  smaller  pieces,  four  for  the  larger,  and  eight  for 
the  Great  Altar.  The  utensils  might  also  be  carried  by  hand — for  there  was  no  lack 
of  people  to  serve  (who,  however,  had  their  own  tents  and  baggage  to  carry),  or  they 
might  more  reverently  be  packed  in  some  of  the  curtains  and  hangings  of  the  Tab- 
ernacle or  its  court,  when  loaded  for  the  march.* 


or  possibly  ordinary  Israelites  were  subsidized  for 
that  purpose.  A  socket  might  conveniently  be 
carried  by  two  men  with  a  tent-pin  thrust  through 
its  mortice.  The  roof-posts  and  the  wall-bars  also, 
which  were  too  long  to  be  placed  upon  the  wagons, 
were  probably  carried  by  men  upon  their  shoulders. 
There  is  no  trace  of  the  possession  or  employment  of 
camels  by  the  Hebrews  in  this  journey,  although  at 
present  they  are  the  only  "  ships  of  the  Desert  " 
possible  by  reason  of  the  scarcity  of  water  and  the 
absence  of  roads.  In  fact  the  four  wagons  assigned 
for  the  transportation  of  the  wooden  portions  of  the 
structure  must  have  been  supplemented  hy  extra 
vehicles,  or  else  have  made  several  trips  for  the  pur- 
pose, as  a  little  computation  Avill  show.  A  section 
of  an  acacia  (seyal)  branch  in  our  possession,  4^ 
inches  in  diameter  and  scarcely  one  inch  in  thickness, 
weighs  half  a  pound,  although  thoroughl}'  seasoned 
and  free  from  knots.  Each  of  the  fence-posts  of  the 
Tabernacle  court  therefore  weighed  at  least  50  pounds 
(  -w^  ),  to  say  nothing  of  their  silver  caps  and  copper 
tenons ;  and  the  60  posts  alone  would  weigh  3,000 
pounds,  or  about  a  ton  and  a  half.  By  a  similar 
calculation  each  of  the  wall-planks  would  weigh  at 
least  600  pounds,  to  say  nothing  of  the  gold  plating, 
silver  tenons  or  other  metallic  attachments;  and  the 
whole  48  would  weigh  28,800  pounds,  or  about  14 
tons.  In  order  to  accommodate  the  number  of 
wagons,  the  posts  might  safely  be  reduced  to  one-half 
the  diameter  that  we  have  supposed  for  them,  wliich 
would  make  their  weight  comparatively  inconsider- 
able; and  in  like  manner  perhaps  the  planks,  so  that 
they  would  weigh  colleclively  (if  only  about  an  inch 
thick,  greatly  stiffened  by  the  metal  plates)  about 
4  tons :  but  the  difficulty  of  providing  carriage, 
where  resources  (and  especially  human  and  animal 
force)  seem  to  have  been  so  abundant,  is  too  slight 
to  require  a  disturbance  of  our  estimates  or  a  stinting 
of  the  materials.  Where  six  wagons  were  volun- 
teered, twenty  or  more,  if  necessary,  could  easily  be 
procured. 

We  may  remark  that  the  desert  itself  supplied  this 


wood  in  abundance,  and  the  copious  store  of  metals, 
gems  a;id  weaving  materials  were  provided  in  ad- 
vance by  the  divine  direction  (Exod.  iii,  22;  xi,  2)  to 
ask  (Heb.  shaal,  the  common  word  for  a  request,  A.  V. 
most  unfortunately  "borrow,"  for  they  never  ex- 
pected or  were  expected  to  restore)  these  things  of 
the  Egyptians  (a  just  demand  for  their  long  and 
severe  and  unrequited  labor),  and  the  latter  were  only 
glad  to  bestow  in  hopes  of  hastening  the  departure 
of  their  late  serfs  (Exod.  xii,  33-36).  These  valuables 
they  afterwards  freely  contributed,  as  they  were  of 
little  use  for  commercial  purposes  in  tlie  Desert. 

*  In  tiie  cam])  the  position  of  the  several  tribes  was 
as  shown  on  the  following  diagram  (Num.  ii,  iv,  vii). 


Aslier 


EIast. 
Judali 
Zebulon  Is 

Moses 
Aaron 
Aarnnites 


^achar 


Simeon 


gDan 


a: 

Q^ 

es 

t^ 

Baggage ^ 

— 

o 

'B     E  Baggage 


Gad 


Reuben  g 

K 


Gershouites 
Naphtali 

Baggage 

Benjamin  Manasseh 

Ephraim 

West. 

The  route  pursued  (See  Plate  I)  was  substantially 
the  same  as  the  one  usually  followed  by  modern  tour- 
ists, and  presents  no  insurmountable  obstacles,  but 
has  several  difficult  passes.  It  must  be  remembered 
that  Moses  himself  was  familiar  with  the  region,  and 
that  he  liad  in  addition  the  guidance  of  his  wife's  rel- 
atives, and  especial!}'  the  ever-present  pillar  of  cloud 
and  fire.  A  special  Providence  is  intimated  at  every 
step  and  juncture. 

On  preparing  for  the  march  the  priests  (Aaronites, 


INNER    VAIL. 


51 


III.  The  inner  room,  called  the  Most  Holy  Place  ("  lioly  of  holies,"  a  Hebra- 
ism), which  we  may  compare  to  a  shrine,  was  but  a  continuation  of  the  front  room, 
the  walls,  roof-canvas  and  side-curtains  being  the  same.  There  are  therefore  but  two 
objects  of  special  consideration  here.     (See  Plate  IV,  C) 

1.  The  only  division  between  the  rooms  was  anothei-  screen,  entirely  similar  to 
that  of  the  outer  door-way,  except  in  one  particular,  and  therefore  requiring  discus- 
sion only  as  to  two  points,  in  which  it  M'ill  be  found  highly  determinative,  as  its  name 
in  the  original  implies  (Heb. jyrtwXvM,  lit.  a  separation^  i.  e.  partition;  apphed  only 
to  this  one  piece  of  drapery).  It  is  particularly  described  in  Exod.  xxvi,  31-33; 
xxxvi,  35,  36.     (See  Plate  IV,  B) 

(1.)  This  differed  from  that  of  the  door-way  of  the  Holy  Place  in  one  respect 
only  ;  it  was  an  embroidery  of  cherubim  instead  of  plain  figures,  resembling  in  this 
feature  the  side-curtains,  except  that  these  were  doubtless  (as  we  will  hereafter  see) 
depicted  with  extended  wings  touching  each  other  (requiring  but  two  figures  to  fill 


i.  e.  sons  of  Aaron)  first  took  down  the  Vail  and 
folded  it  over  the  Mercy-seat,  then  wrapped  the  whole 
Ark  in  a  blanket  of  fnr  [kept  for  this  purpose],  and 
covered  this  again  with  a  sheet  of  all-wool  violet, 
drawing  the  side-bars  into  a  proper  position.  Next 
they  covered  the  Table  of  Show-bread  with  a  similar 
woolen  cloth,  placed  all  the  dishes  close  around  the 
piles  of  bread,  wrapped  the  whole  in  a  sheet  of  (all- 
wool)  crimson,  and  covered  this  again  with  a  fur 
blanket,  putting  in  the  side-bars  for  transportation. 
Thirdly,  they  wrapped  up  the  candelalirum  and  all 
its  apparatus  in  a  sheet  of  (all-wool)  violet,  put  the 
whole  in  a  sack  of  fur,  and  hung  it  on  a  pole,  to  be 
carried  in  like  manner.  Fourthly,  ihej'  wrapped  the 
Altar  of  Incense  in  a  similar  violet  sheet,  and  covered 
it  with  a  blanket  of  fur,  putting  in  the  bars  for  carry- 
ing it.  Fifthly,  they  wrapped  up  all  the  other  ves- 
sels of  the  Sanctuary  (including  the  silver  trumpets, 
and  the  golden  censers)  in  a  similar  violet  sheet,  and 
put  them  in  another  fur  bag  for  carrying  upon  a 
pole.  The  Laver  was  doubtless  prepared  for  trans- 
portation in  like  manner.  Lastly,  they  cleared  out 
all  the  (coals  and)  ashes  from  the  Altar  of  Burnt- 
offering,  spread  a  purple  (all-wool)  cloth  over  it,  set 
all  Hs  (copper)  utensils  within  (upon  the  grate),  and 
then  threw  over  the  whole  a  blanket  of  fur,  putting  in 
the  bars  for  carrying.  Not  until  all  this  was  done  did 
the  Levites  (of  the  family  of  Kohath)  approach  to 
take  up  the  pieces  of  furniture,  place  the  bearing- 
poles  on  their  shoulders,  and  march  away  with  them. 
The  other  Levites  then  came,  took  down  the  court,  tent 
and  walls,  and  packed  them  on  the  wagons.  The 
order  in  the  line  of  march  was  according  to  the  fol- 
lowing diagram,  all  parties  retaining  as  nearly  as  pos- 
sible the  relative  position  of  the  encampment. 


Judah, 
Issachar, 
Zebulou. 

Moses, 
Aaron, 

Priests. 


Dan, 


Reuben, 


Asher, 


Simeon, 


Gad. 


Kohathites 
(with  the  Furniture 
on  their  Shoulders), 

Gershonites 
(with  the  Tent-stuff  and  Cordage 
vn  2  Wagons), 
Naphtali.  Merarites 

(tvith  the  Wooden-work  and 
Fixtures  on  4  Wagons). 

Epiiraim, 
Manasseh, 
Benjamin. 

It  may  be  presimied  that  the  stations  enumerated 
in  Exod.  xii-xix;  Num.  xxxiii,  represent  only  the 
principal  encampments,  where  the  Israelites  stopped 
for  a  considerable  period ;  and  that  the  route  indi- 
cated was  that  of  the  headquarters  only,  consist- 
ing of  the  leaders,  tiie  families  and  the  ecclesiasti- 
cal establishment,  while  the  younger  men  were 
scattered  extensively  over  the  peninsula  in  charge 
of  the  flocks  and  herbs.  The  pasturage  appears  to 
have  been  much  more  abundant  then  than  now,  owing 
to  the  denudation  of  the  region  of  its  trees  and 
shrubs  (for  fuel,  especially  the  manufacture  of  char- 
coal for  sale  in  Egypt),  and  the  consequent  drying  up 
of  the  streams. 


52 


STRUCTURE   OF   THE   TABERNACLE. 


the  space  *),  for  the  cloth  was  (hke  the  other  screens)  stretched  tight  (and  thereforo 
its  lengtli  needed  not  to  be  mentioned,  the  space  being  otherwise  given,  namely,  the 
entire  width  of  the  room). 

(2.)  It  was  suspended,  like  the  other  door-way  screens,  upon  pillars,  in  tliis  ease 
made  and  furnished  exactly  like  those  of  the  front  room,  except  that  their  sockets  (and 
of  course  their  tenons  also)  were  of  silver  instead  of  copper,  and  that  they  do  not 
appear  to  have  had  any  connecting  rods.  The  reason  for  this  last  difference  is  that 
the  curtain  was  fastened,  not  only  (as  usual  with  the  rest)  by  (gold)  hooks  in  the  pil- 
lars, but  also  (as  we  will  presently  see)  to  the  side-jplanks^  and  thus  the  whole  line  was 
kept  from  swaying  transversely  to  the  building.  The  pillars  moreover  were  four 
instead  of  live  (as  in  the  case  of  the  front-door),  because  no  central  one  was  required 
to  sustain  the  peak  here,  and  the  end  ones  did  not  need  to  touch  the  wall  for  their 
support.  We  therefore  presume  that  they  were  placed  with  equal  distances  between 
them  and  also  between  them  and  the  walls  ;  thus  making  five  spaces  of  two  cubits  each 
(from  centre  to  centre,  less  \  cubit  for  the  spaces  adjoining  the  walls).  We  prefer  this 
method  of  distribution  to  that  which  places  them  in  contact  with  the  walls,  leaving  three 
spaces  only  ;  because  in  that  plan  the  passage-ways  to  the  Holy  of  Holies,  where  a  single 
man  passed  but  once  a  year,  are  made  wider  than  those  of  the  front  door-way  through 
which  many  persons  must  have  passed  together  often  every  day.  The  passage-ways 
are  thus  found  to  contract  at  every  successive  inclosure  from  without  inward,  as  pro- 
priety demands.f 

(3.)  The  position  of  this  inner  Vail  becomes  important,  in  the  first  place,  for  the  ob- 
vious reason  that  the  dimensions  of  the  two  rooms  as  to  length  are  indicated  only  by  this 
division-line,  and  yet  its  location  in  this  respect  is  not  expressly  stated  at  all.  We  are  left 
to  the  presumption  that  the  inner  room  was  a  square,  and  the  outer  one  twice  as  long  as 
broad ;  conclusions  that  are  certified  by  the  proportions  of  the  corresponding  apart- 
ments in  the  Temple,  as  all  agree.  This  will  make  the  dividing  line  fall  at  f  of  the 
w^idth  of  the  Tth  plank  from  the  rear,  and  a  hook  must  therefore  be  inserted  at  that 
point  in  the  side-walls  for  that  purpose,  the  presumption  being  that  the  posts  on 
which  the  Vail  hung  were  wholly  within  the  Most  Holy  Place  (i.  e.  the  screen  on  their 
outer  face,  as  in  both  the  other  cases). 

There  is  but  one  other  intimation  in  the  text  concerning  the  position  of  the 
Vail,  and  the  value  or  necessity  of  giving  it  (which  is  done  in  the  most  explicit  terms, 
as  if  something  important)  does  not  appear  until  after  close  study.  It  is  this :  "  And 
thou  shalt  hang  up  [lit.  "  give,"  i.  e.  jplace\  the  Vail  under  the  taches  [i.  e.  knobs  of 
the  side-curtains]  "  (Exod.  xxvi,   33).:};     It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  side- 


*From  1  Kings  vi,  23,  24,  it  appears  that  the 
spread  of  a  cherub's  wings  was  reckoned  as  equal  to 
the  vvhoie  height  of  the  figure.  Hence  these  two 
cherubs  touching  each  other  with  outstretched  wings 
would  leave  an  exactly  equal  margin  on  tlie  Vail  at  the 
liottom  and  sides.aupposing  them  to  be  placed  just  as  far 
from  thutop  as  on  the  sjde-curtains,  where  they  would 
seem  to  nave  been  set  in  the  middle  of  the  breadths. 


f  We  will  find  another  and  more  conclusive  reason 
for  this  arrangement,  when  we  come  to  consider  tlie 
succession  of  colors  on  the  wall  drapery. 

\  Since  it  is  not  said  how  much  below  the  knobs  the 
Vail  is  to  be  set,  the  legitimate  inference  is  that  it  is 
to  be  put  immediatdy  beneath  them,  as  in  other  in- 
stances (Exod.  XXV,  .15 :  xxvi,  19;  xxx,  4),  where.-i-i 
an  interval  (if  any)  is  always  indicated  b}'  a  different 


POSITION}   OF   THE   VAIL. 


53 


curtains  are  only  4  cubits  wide  (i.  e.  liigh,  when  bung),  wbile  the  Vail  is  5  cubits ; 
tlie  knobs  therefore  nnist  have  been  set  in  the  planks  one  cubit  above  the  upper  edge 
of  the  curtains.  The  direction  in  question  reveals  to  us  two  interesting  facts :  iirst 
that  the  Vail  was  directly  attached  to  the  walls,  but  not  to  the  knobs  (for,  as  we  have 
seen,  a  knob  does  not  fall  at  the  right  spot ;  nor  could  the  Vail  be  buttoned  conven- 
iently or  securely  upon  one,  had  it  been  at  the  place,  for  it  would  not  project  in  the 
proper  direction),  and  secondly,  that  the  loops  were  of  such  a  length  that  the  top  of 
the  curtains  came  one  cubit  lower  than  the  knobs.  The  diagram  (Fig.  19)  on  p.  40 
shows  how  mathematically  true  this  would  be  in  the  mode  of  hanging  the  curtains 
which  we  have  devised.* 

expression  (e.  g.  Exod.  xxvi,  12,  25;  xxvii,  5).  Ob- 
serve also  that  the  langiiage  is,  "  under  the  icnobs," 
i.  e.  their  line  in  general,  not  under  any  particular 
knob.  It  should  further  be  noted  that  this  special 
command  concerning  the  Vail  could  not  have  been 
given  for  the  purpose  of  fixing  its  location  or  dimen- 
sions, since  it  really  does  not  accomplish  this  in  any 
direction  ;  nor  yet  for  the  purpose  mainly  and  simply 
of  indicating  the  height  of  the  knobs  from  the 
ground  (however  usefully  it  may  incidentally  serve 
this  end),  for  that  might  have  been  more  directly 
and  briefly  stated.  It  was  intended  rather,  as  the 
language  itself  without  any  circumlocution  implies, 
to  point  out  some  peculiarity  in  the  mode  of  suspend- 
ing tlie  Vail,  different  from  that  of  the  other  screens, 
at  the  two  ends  at  least  (the  most  important  points), 
namely,  by  a  hook  in  the  planks  themselves,  and 
not  in  the  posts  as  elsewliere. 

We  liave  assumed  that  the  hangings  of  the  in- 
terior door-ways,  namelj',  of  the  Holy  and  the  Most 
Holy  places,  were  uniform  in  height  with  those  of 
the  outer  court,  i.  e.  5  cubits  (Exod.  xxxviii,  18),  in- 
asmucli  as  they  were  all  for  a  Hko  purpose  of  screen- 
ing from  ordinary  view.  In  the  case  of  the  Vail  tliis 
is  specially  confirmed  by  tlie  parallel  height  of  the 
golden  knobs,  which  could  not  well  iiave  been  lower, 
if  tliey  were  to  furnish  an  adequate  point  of  attach- 
ment for  the  interior  stay-ropes,  nor  higher,  if  these 
last  were  not  to  encroach  inconveniently  upon  the 
margin  required  about  the  furniture.  The  triangula- 
tion  of  the  colored  loops  (Fig.  19)  also  corroborates 
the  same  conclusion. 

*  There  yet  remains  a  still  more  crucial  test  of  the 
accuracy  and  consistency  of  our  method  of  disposing 
of  these  colored  curtains.  As  the  full  planks  are 
each  1^  cubits  wide,  with  a  knob  and  a  loop  to  each, 
and  as  the  joined  sheets  are  eacli  twice  as  long  as 
the  entire  circuit  of  the  planks,  it  follows  that  every 
looped  jwrtion  assigned  to  a  plank  must  be  3  cubits 
long,  whicli  allows  exactly  one  cubit  for  each  of  the 
component  stripes  of  color.  Now  since  the  flat  panels 


of  violet,  containing  the  figure  of  the  cherubim,  are 
each  to  be  f  of  a  cubit  wide  between  the  ends  of  the 
loops  that  stretch  them  out,  or  a  full  cubit  including 
the  loops  and  their  eyelets,  there  are  left  two  cubits 
for  the  other  two  colors,  one  on  each  slope  of  the 
intervening  fold  of  cloth. 

Again,  as  the  entire  length  of  each  of  the  com- 
bined sheets  is  140  cubits,  a  number  not  divisible  by 
3  without  a  remainder,  it  follows  that,  if  the  stripes 
were  woven  uniformly  in  each  separate  (or  uncom- 
bined)  curtain-breadth  (as  we  cannot  dcjubt  they 
were),  some  one  at  least  of  the  colors  must  have 
fallen  short  or  been  redundant  at  one  end  or  the 
other;  and  the  same  conclusion  results  from  tlie 
fact  that  each  of  these  original  or  separate  curtain- 
pieces  of  stuff  was  28  cubits  long,  giving  9  full  series 
of  colors  (9X3  =  27),  and  a  surplus  cubit  for  an  en- 
tire stripe.  Let  us  now  suppose  that  the  stripes  be- 
gin at  the  front  edge  of  the  north  planks,  and  proceed 
regularly  along  the  walls  (after  the  Heb.  order  of 
reading,  as  elsewhere  observed),  in  the  invariable 
succession  of  colors  as  enunciated  in  the  sacred 
text,  until  they  terminate  at  the  front  edge  of  the 
south  wall.  In  order  to  bring  tlie  violet  about  the 
middle  of  the  first  plank  (a  position  required  as  that 
of  the  embroidered  panel,  with  its  connected  violet 
loops),  let  us  commence  with  the  color  immediately 
preceding,  i.  e.  the  crimson ;  and  we  will  do  this 
with  a  half  stripe,  instead  of  a  whole  one,  in  accord- 
ance with  our  uniform  custom  in  the  case  of  the 
door-screens.  (This  half-stripe  of  crimson,  be  it 
noted,  will  be  hidden  by  the  door-pillar  at  that  point, 
so  that  the  series  will  appear  to  begin  in  fact  with 
the  violet  stripe,  the  one  always  mentioned  first  in 
the  textual  order  of  enumeration.)  Tlie  succeeding 
purple  stripe,  together  with  half  the  following  crim- 
son one,  will  complete  the  drapery  for  the  fiist  plank, 
the  whole  being  in  entire  symmetry,  panel  and  loops 
properly  adjusted  to  the  knob,  and  commencing  as 
well  as  ending  with  a  half  stripe  of  the  same  color. 
The  series  will  go  on   regularly,  until  we  reach  tlie 


S4 


STRUCTURE  OF  THE  TABERNACLE. 


2.  At  length  we  have  readied  the  most  sacred  of  all  the  penetralia  of  the  Taber- 
nacle, which  doubtless  occupied  the  exact  centre  of  the  Holy  of  Holies  (but  a  different 


end  of  tlie  first  piece  of  cloth,  which  will  terminate 
with  a  half  stripe  of  violet  at  tlie  middle  of  tlie  10th 
plank;  and  the  second  piece  of  stuff,  resuming  tlie 
same  series  with  another  half  stripe  of  violet  will 
carrj"-  on  the  order  regularly  again  to  the  end  of  this 
piece,  terminating  witli  a  half  stripe  of  purple  at  the 
last  third  of  the  19th  plank.  The  third  piece  of  cloth 
will  there  take  up  the  same  order  with  another  half 
stripe  of  purple,  which,  together  with  half  the  ad- 
joining stripe  of  crimson  will  complete  that  plank, 
and  the  corner  will  be  reached  in  like  manner  by  the 
first  half  of  the  next  crimson  stripe,  the  middle  of 
each  plank  thus  far  being  in  every  instance  covered 
by  the  violet  panel.  Here  the  half-cubit  of  the  rear 
corner-plank  will  change  the  adjustment,  the  remain- 
ing half  stripe  of  crimson  making  the  short  fold  at 
the  corner  (without  any  intervening  fiat  panel),  and 
the  succeeding  violet  stripe  carrying  on  the  series 
across  the  joint  of  the  planks  to  the  next  fold,  which 
will  consist  of  the  purple  and  the  crimson  stripes 
falling  under  the  knob  in  the  middle  of  the  first  full 
rear-plank,  as  it  should.  This  last  arrangement  will 
continue  regularly  till  the  other  corner-plank  is 
reached  in  like  manner  by  the  last  half  of  the  8th 
violet  stripe  of  the  third  curtain-piece;  and  half  the 
adjoining  purple  one  will  make  the  short  fold  for  that 
plank,  precisely  as  has  been  done  in  the  opposite 
corner;  while  the  remainder  of  the  purple  stripe, 
together  with  the  whole  of  the  succeeding  crimson 
will  make  up  the  (somewhat  short)  fold  on  the  first 
(i.  e.  rear)  tliird  of  tlie  20th  south  plank  (reckoned 
from  the  front  of  the  building).  Here  the  violet 
stripe  next  following  will  once  more  fall  in  the 
middle  of  a  side-plank,  exactly  corresponding  to  its 
fellow  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  room,  and  the 
same  arrangement  will  regularly  continue  for  every 
other  side-plank  to  the  front  corner,  the  third  cur- 
tain-piece terminating  with  a  crimson  half-stripe  at  the 
rear  third  of  the  19th  plank,  the  fourth  piece  with  a 
violet  half-stripe  at  the  front  third  of  the  10th  plank, 
and  tiie  fifth  piece  with  a  purple  half-stripe  at  the 
extremity  of  the  line  (hidden  by  the  other  door-pillar). 
Thus,  tlie  reversal  of  tlie  order  of  the  stripes  on  the 
opposite  sides  of  tiie  rooms  is  so  compensated  by  the 
change  in  the  panels  at  the  corners  that  strict  regu- 
larity is  maintained  throughout  the  entire  series,  and 
yet  complete  correspondence  in  the  position  of  the 
20  violet  cherubim-panels  on  each  side,  and  the  7  at 
the  end. 

Once  more,  tlie   Vail,    being    20   cubits  from  the 


front,  and  10  cubits  from  the  rear  of  the  interior,  will 
fall  at  the  end  of  tlie  first  third  of  the  14th  plank 
from  the  entrance  ( 13^  Xl^^  20),  or  (what  is  the  same 
thing)  at  the  end  of  the  second  third  of  the  7th  plank 
from  the  end  (6|Xli=10):  and  this  point  will  be  at 
the  junction  of  a  crimson  with  a  violet  stripe  on  the 
north  side,  and  of  a  purple  with  a  violet  one  on  the 
south  side,  in  both  cases  immediately  in  front  of  the 
14th  violet  (or  cherub)  panel  from  the  entrance 
(where,  be  it  noted,  we  have  placed  no  pillar  to  hide 
it).  This  will  give  exactly  7  cherubim  to  each  side, 
and  the  same  number  to  the'  rear  of  the  Most  Holy 
Place,  and  14  to  each  side  and  adjoining  half  of  the 
Vail  in  the  Hoi}'  Place,  while  the  two  on  the  Mercy- 
seat  will  correspond  to  the  two  on  the  Vail ;  in  no 
instance  a  cherub  on  two  colors  at  once.  Moreover, 
if  the  Vail  itself  be  made  to  consist  of  two  broad 
stripes  (purple  and  crimson)  for  its  two  cherubim,  re- 
spectively, with  a  half  stripe  of  violet  on  either 
edge  (like  all  the  other  door-screens),  this  will  com- 
plete the  circuit  of  the  colors  continuously  in  their 
uniform  order  around  the  three  sides  of  the  Holy 
Place,  as  well  as  those  of  the  Most  Holy. 

We  are  entitled  to  regard  this  marvellous  series  of 
perfect  coincidences  in  the  symmetry  and  congruity  of 
the  scheme  which  we  have  propounded  for  the  adjust- 
ment of  this  set  of  variegated  wall-curtains,  no  less 
than  that  of  the  plain  roof- curtains,  as  a  demonstra- 
tion of  its  truth.  Novel  as  it  really  is,  and  compli- 
cated as  it  may  at  first  sight  appear,  it  must  in  the 
end  carry  conviction  with  all  who  will  take  the  pains 
to  trace  it  out.  When  the  great  Kepler  published 
the  volume  in  which  he  promulgated  his  famous 
'•laws"  of  the  mathematical  proportions  existing  be- 
tween the  motions  and  distances  of  the  planetary 
bodies,  that  have  since  become  the  basis  of  all  exact 
calculations  in  astronomy,  not  anticipating  their  im- 
mediate triumph  in  public  acceptance,  he  is  said  to 
have  uttered  the  memorable  words,  "  I  can  well 
afford  to  wait  even  centuries,  if  need  be,  for  an  ap- 
preciative reader  of  my  theories, — since  God  has 
waited  6,000  j-ears  for  an  intelligent  observer  of  his 
universe."  In  the  same  spirit  of  reverent  confidence, 
albeil  on  a  much  humbler  scale,  we  may  be  allowed 
to  claim  for  our  discoveries  in  regard  to  this  piece  of 
the  divine  handicraft,  that  we  can  equally  well  afford 
to  wait  a  few  years,  if  we  must,  for  an  adoptive 
student  of  our  theory, — since  Moses  has  waited  more 
than  three  millennia  for  a  consistent  expositor  of  his 
inspired  account  of  the  sacred  Tabernacle. 


THE   SACRED   ARK. 


33 


spot  in  tlie  Temple,  1  Kings  viii,  8).  This  sole  piece  of  furniture  was  the  Ark,* 
J  irobably  standing  transversely  in  the  apartment  so  as  to  exhibit  to  the  best  advantage 
its  several  parts,  which  are  described  in  Exod.  xxv,  10-22 ;  xxxvii,  1-9, 

(1.)  In  construction  it  was  altogether  similar  to  the  other  acacia- wood  boxes 
which  we  have  already  considered,  being  2^  cubits  long,  1^  broad,  and  1^  high  (ex- 
ternal dimensions),  plated  with  gold  inside  and  out,  including  the  bottom  and  the  top. 
This  last,  called  the  ""  Mercy-seat  "  (Heb.  ka/)p6/'eih,  lit.  a  covering,  but  not  in  the  figura- 
tive sense  of  expiation  ;  hence  used  only  of  this  article),  was  in  fact  a  movable  lid,  of 
the  same  size  as  the  Ark  itself,  and  thus  proved  to  have  shut  inside  of  the  moulding-cor- 
nice ("  crown  "),  which  it  had,  like  the  other  boxes,  and  of  course  flush  with  it,  on  the 
upper  surface.  It  was  likewise  furnished  with  the  usual  apparatus  for  transportation, 
in  the  form  of  gold  rings  and  gold-cased  bars ;  but  in  this  case  they  fitted  together 
tightly,  so  as  never  to  be  removed,  which  convenience  for  daily  use  required  in  the 
other  cases.f  The  golden  censer,  mth  which  the  High-priest  once  a  year  only  entered 
the  Most  Holy  Place,  was  doubtless  set  upon  this  lid. 

(2.)  Upon  tliis  lid  also,  near  either  end,  were  placed  those  most  remarkable 
objects,  the  Cherubim,  which  are  occasionally  referred  to  in  Scripture,:}:  but  of  which 
the  most  various  and  often  grotesque  representations  have  been  made  by  later  writers 
and  artists.  We  have,  in  this  part  of  our  work,  to  consider  only  their  material  form 
and  their  posture,  leaving  their  symbolical  significance  to  a  later  chapter. 

The  statues  (for  they  were  such  in  the  present  case)  were  hammered  out  (the  same 


*  Heb.  arm,  lit.  a  rtce^tadt  i.  e.  a  chest;  as  a  coffer 
for  money  (2  Kings  xii,  9,  10),  or  a  mummy-case 
(Gen.  1,  26). 

f  The  bars  were  not  to  be  removed  from  the  rings 
of  tlie  Ark  because  of  its  superior  sanctity,  wliich 
forbade  all  unnecessary  handling  (see  2  Sam.  vi,  6,  7); 
and  lliere  was  not  the  same  occasion  for  ready  pas- 
sage about  it  when  at  rest  as  in  the  case  of  the  other 
pieces  of  furniture  similarly  equipped. 

\  They  are  first  mentioned  in  the  account  of  the 
expulsion  from  Eden  (Grcn.  iii,  24),  where  they  have 
the  emphatic  prefix  of  the  article  {the  cherubs,  un- 
fortunately neglected  in  the  A.  V.),  as  if  already 
well  known ;  and  so  in  fact  they  must  have  been, 
especially  to  the  Israelites,  who  were  fixmiliar  with 
the  representation  of  such  figures  on  the  Egyptian 
monuments.  The  winged  animals  of  the  Assyrian 
sculptures  are  also  imaginarj^  creatures  of  a  like  sym- 
bolical character,  no  doubt,  but  more  gross  in  their 
conception.  Our  chief  information  concerning  Script- 
ural cherubim  (besides  the  passages  here  discussed) 
is  drawn  from  the  visions  of  Ezekiel  (x,  xl),  in  which 
they  figure  conspicuously;  together  with  a  few  hints 
in  Isaiah  (vi).  The  forms  in  the  account  of  Solomon's 
Temple  (I  Kings  vi,  23-29;  2  Ciiron.  iii,  10-13)  and 
Kzekiel's  (xli,  18-20),  although  of  colossal  size,  are 


doubtless  consistent  with  those  in  Exodus ;  and  the 
living  creatures  of  the  Apocalypse  (Rev.  iv,  6-9)  are 
but  reproductions  of  them.  It  is  noteworthy  tliat 
the  large  cherubim  of  the  Temple  above  spoken  of 
are  two  in  number,  apparently  corresponding  to  those 
on  the  Vail,  and  not  to  those  on  the  Ark,  which 
were  there  also.  Those  on  the  Temple  walls  were  in 
like  manner  the  representatives  of  the  former  em- 
broideries on  the  side-curtains ;  and  it  is  a  curious 
corroboration  of  our  disposal  of  them  in  panels  with 
a  fold  between,  that  the  Temple  wainscot  was  carved 
with  alternate  clierubim  and  palm-trees  (Ezek.  xh,  18), 
the  palm-trees  taking  tlie  place  of  the  fold,  which 
could  not  well  be  imitated  in  wood-carving.  For 
artistic  effect,  tlie  head  is  there  somewhat  turned,  so 
as  to  fairly  show  two  adjoining  faces  onlj';  and  of 
course  the  nobler  ones  are  selected.  The  identity  of 
the  "  living  creatures  "  of  Ezekiel  with  the  cherubim 
is  evinced  by  the  fact  tliat  under  both  names  they 
are  represented  as  supporting  the  triumphal  car  of 
the  Almighty  (2  Sam.  xxii,  11;  Ezek.  i,  26;  ix.  3; 
X.  1,  4);  they  both  had  wheels  connected  with  them 
(Ezek.  i,  15 ;  x,  9);  were  entirely  similar  in  form 
(Ezek.  i.  10;  x,  14,  where  the  ox-face  is  called  a 
cherub-face,  because  the  figure  had  a  bovine  leg  and 
foot) ;  and  in  Ezek.  x,  20,  they  are  expressly  identified. 


66 


STMUCTUME  OF  THE  TABERNACLE. 


word  is  used  as  in  prescribing  tlie  Candelabrum)  of  (sheets  of)  pure  gold  ;  there- 
fore hollow,  and  not  a  plating  over  carved  ligures,  as  were  Solomon's  (1  Kings  \\, 
35).  They  were  doubtless  in  several  pieces,  put  together  like  those  of  the  Candel- 
abrum. The  figures  themselves  were  fastened  to  the  hd  in  hke  manner  (Exod.  xxv, 
19,  "  of  the  Mercy-seat,"  lit.  out  from  it,  i.  e.  permanently  a  part  of  it).* 

In  shape  the  cherubim  were  substantially  human,  but  had  the  split  foot  of  an  ox ;  f 
and  in  addition  to  the  man's  face  (the  proper  front)  they  had  three  others,  namely. 


Fig.  26.— Cherubim  of  an  Egyptian  Shrine  carried  in  a  Boat  by  Priests. 

those  of  a  lion  and  an  ox  (on  the  right  and  left  sides,  respectively),  and  that  of  an 
eagle  (behind).  Again,  in  addition  to  Imnian  hands,  they  had  two  sets  of  wings,  one 
pair  always  folded  (for  the  sake  of  modesty)  obliquely  downward  and  forward  about 
the  person,  and  the  other  used  for  flight  or  for  various  expressi\'e  motions  or  con- 
ditions.:}:   (See  Plate  V,  G.) 


*None  of  tlie  Heb.  etymologies  proposed  for  tlie 
word  chenih  is  at  all  satisfactory.  The  surmise  tliat 
it  may  be  a  transposition  for  rekeb,  (a  vehicle,  namel}-, 
for  Jeliovah),  is  tlie  only  one  in  the  least  degree  plaus- 
ible. Xor  do  the  cognate  Shemilic  languages  throw 
any  light  upon  tlie  derivation.  Probably  it  is  of  for- 
eign origin,  perhaps  Egyptian. 

fThe  "straight  foot"  of  Ezek.  i,  7,  means  the 
straight  (or  fore)  leg.     The  same  verse   informs  us 


that  their  color  (not  of  the  legs  onl}')  was  that  of 
polished  copper. 

X  The  description  in  Ezek.  i,  5-14,  where  they  are 
called  animals  {chayoth,  A.  V.  "  living  creatures,"  like 
the  zod  of  the  Apocalypse,  A.  V.  unfortunately 
"beasts,"  totally  different  from  the  cherdh,  of  Dan. 
vii,  tlie  theria  of  Rev.  xiii,  which  are  wild  beasts,  a 
symbol  of  lieathen  political  power,  like  those  of  tlie 
Assyrian  monuments),  is  very  particular,  especiall}' 


CONTENTS   OF  THE  ARK. 


57 


They  were  no  doubt  the  normal  or  full  height  of  a  man  (i.  e.  6  feet,  somewhat 
less  than  4  cubits),  and  are  always  spoken  of  as  maintaining  an  upright  position  (2 
Chron.  iii,  13).*  In  the  specimens  embroidered  upon  the  side-curtains  we  have  sup- 
posed the  upper  or  posterior  pair  of  wings  to  be  folded  at  the  back  and  at  the  sides,  in  a 
quiescent  state,  while  those  figured  upon  the  Vail  were  with  these  wings  expanded  hori- 
zontally, and  those  upon  the  Ark  had  the  same  pair  of  wings  spread  obliquely  upward 
and  forward  in  a  hovering  or  brooding  attitude  (Exod.  xxv,  20,  lit.  "  And  the  cherubs 
shall  be  [permanently]  expanding  [Hke  a  bird  fluttering  over  its  nest,  Deut.  xxxii,  11] 
their  wings  as  to  upward,  surrounding  with  their  wings  over  the  cover  ").f  They 
stood  facing  each  other,  and  looking  down  upon  the  Ark.  The  symbolism  of  these 
postures  M^e  leave  for  the  present,  pausing  here  only  to  note  that  these  last  were  on  a 
level  (one  cubit  from  the  ground)  with  those  on  the  Vail,  both  being  in  a  flying  state, 
and  at  the  same  time  they  agreed  with  those  on  the  curtains  as  resting  upon  something. 

(3.)  The  sacred  Ark  contained  four  articles,  the  first  and  most  important  of  which 
was  that  from  which  it  derived  its  distinctive  epithet,  "  Ark  of  the  Covenant "  (or 
"  Ark  of  the  Law  "),  namely,  of  God  with  his  people  ;  in  other  words  the  two  tables 
of  stone,  on  which  Jehovah  \\nX\\  his  own  finger  wrote  the  Decalogue,  after  they  had 
been  prepared  by  Moses  to  replace  the  original  two  prepared  by  God  himself,  but 
broken  by  Moses  in  consequence  of  the  idolatry  of  the  "  golden  calf  "  (Exod.  xxxi, 
18— xxxiv,  29,  Deut.  ix,  10— x,  b).X 

The  second  article  contained  in  the  Ark  was  the  autograph  copy  of  the  Law, 
M'ritten  out  by  Moses  and  deposited  there  (Deut.  xxxi,  26) ;  presumed  to  be  the  Pen- 


ver.  11,  12,  which  run  literally,  "And  their  faces  and 
tlieir  wings  [were]  parted  from  as  to  upward;  two 
[of  the  latter  (as  appears  from  ver.  9)]  joining,  each 
to  each,  and  two  covering  their  bodies.  And  each 
toward  the  surface  of  his  face  they  went;  toward 
witliersoever  the  [i.  e.  their]  spirit  tniglit  be  to  go 
they  went;  they  would  not  turn  themselves  about  in 
going."  In  other  words,  these  singular  creatures  had 
four  faces  and  four  wings  apiece  (but  not  four  heads 
nor  four  bodies),  both  the  faces  and  the  wings  being 
separated  at  the  top  of  the  compound  person  into  two 
sets  of  two  each ;  tlie  upper  two  of  the  wings  ex- 
tending horizontally  so  as  to  touch  those  of  tlie  ad- 
joining creatures  (in  the  form  of  a  hollow  square), 
and  the  lower  two  bent  diagonally  toward  each  other 
over  the  middle  of  the  person:  as  they  had  four 
fronts  facing  in  ever}'  direction,  and  all  actuated  by 
a  common  impulse,  they  did  not  need  to  turn  round 
in  walking  or  flying ;  but  moved  immediately  in  the 
direction  of  the  face  fronting  the  desired  way.  In 
Isaiah  (vi,  2-7),  similar  figures  are  called  seraphim 
(i.  e.  burning  ones,  from  their  flame-colored  bodies), 
having  six  wings  (as  in  Rev.  iv,  7,  8),  four  appro- 
priated to  purposes  of  modesty,  the  upper  ones  for 
veiling  the  face,  and  the  lower  the  secret  parts.     We 


will  have  occasion  to  recur  to  this  passage  of  Ezekiel 
more  minutelj'  hereafter. 

*  Differing  in  this  respect  from  those  of  the  Egypt- 
ian monuments  (where  tliey  are  sometimes  kneeling) 
and  the  Revelation  (where  they  are  often  liorizontal 
in  worship). 

f  This  whole  scene  is  aptly  illustrated  by  the  de- 
lineations of  similar  figures  on  the  monuments  of 
Egypt  (see  Wilkinson's  Anc.  Egyptians,  i,  267-271), 
as  well  as  of  Assyria  (Laj-ard,  Babylon  and  Nineveh, 
p.  643).  Any  objection  to  such  representations,  as 
conflicting  witli  the  second  commandment,  is  obviated 
by  the  reflection  that  these  were  not  figures  of  any 
actual  being  or  creature,  but  only  of  imaginary 
objects. 

^  The  only  accessible  stone  in  the  immediate  vicin- 
it}"-  of  Mt.  Sinai  is  the  bright  red  granite  of  Jebel 
Mfisa  itself,  which  is  cracked  into  layers  and  checks 
as  if  by  fire,  or  the  dark  porphyr}'  of  the  adjoining 
mountains.  On  the  summit  of  Jebel  Miisa  there  is  a 
thin  layer  of  compact  gray  granite,  which  might  have 
been  used.  In  any  case  two  slabs  of  this  size,  one 
under  each  arm,  would  have  been  a  sufficient  load  for 
a  vigorous  man  to  carry  even  down  hill.  We  ofTer 
below  some  estimates  on  this  point. 


S8 


STRUCTURE  OF  THE  TABERNACLE. 


tateuchin  full,  and  thought  to  be  the  same  afterwards  discovered  in  the  time  of  Josiali 
(2  Kings  xxii,  8) ;  but  which  must  in  the  meanwhile  have  Ijeen  removed,  together 
with  all  the  contents  presently  to  be  considered,  for  in  the  days  of  Solomon  the 
Ark  contained  the  two  tables  of  the  Law  only  (IKings  viii,  9).*  The  other  articles 
■deposited  there  were  (as  we  learn  also  from  Heb.  ix,  4)  a  golden  pot  of  the  prov- 
idential manna  (Exod.  xvi,  33,  34),  and  the  miraculously  fruitful  rod  of  Aaron  (Num. 
xvii,  10).t 


*Tliis  difficulty  is  discussed  with  great  erudition 
and  at  large  by  A.  Sennert  in  his  essay  on  the  con- 
tents of  the  sacred  Ark  {De  vis  quae,  fuerunt  in  Area 
Foederis,  Wittenberg,  1680,  4to),  who  reaches  the 
conclusion  that  all  the  articles  enumerated  were  orig- 
inally placed  either  in  or  near  the  holy  receptacle,  and 
rejects  the  rabbinnic  opinion  that  a  different  ark  is 
also  spoken  of,  in  which  the  broken  tables  of  the 
original  copy  of  the  Law  were  deposited  together  with 
these  additional  relics;  but  he  is  unable  to  determine 
where  or  by  whom  the  latter  were  eventually  ab- 
stracted. 

f  Some  curious  calculations  may  be  indulged  in  re- 
specting the  suitableness  of  the  dimensions  of  the 
Ark  for  these  purposes.  As  it  was  originally  con- 
structed mainly  or  wholly  for  their  reception  and 
preservation,  it  may  be  presumed  to  have  been  just 
large  enough  in  length  and  breadth  to  hold  them 
conveniently  ;  but  as  they  were  comparatively  thin 
the  box  was  made  of  shapely  height,  and  thus  there 
would  be  ample  room  above  them  for  the  other  de- 
posits. 

But  we  will  descend  to  a  more  minute  comparison. 
These  stone  slabs  were  inscribed  on  both  sides ;  and 
one  contained,  it  is  generally  believed,  the  first  five 
commandments  (all  of  which  relate  to  duties  towards 
superiors  [whether  God,  1-4 ;  or  parents,  5]  ;  while 
the  other  slab  contained  the  remaining  five  (all  of 
which  relate  to  duties  towards  equals) ;  thus  corre- 
sponding very  closely  to  our  Lord's  epitome  of  them 
into  two  precepts.  The  Ark  had  an  interior  capacity 
(if  we  have  rightly  estimated  the  thickness  of  its  bot- 
tom and  sides  as  being  the  same  as  in  the  case  of  the 
Table  of  Show-bread  and  the  Altar  of  incense,  namely 
^  of  a  cubit)  of  2|  cubits  long,  \^  wide,  and  ly\^ 
deep.  This  would  allow  the  "  Tables  of  the  Law  "  to 
be  each  2^  cubits  long,  li  wide,  allowing  ^  of  a  cubit 
at  the  side  for  introducing  the  fingers  in  order  to 
handle  them,  but  giving  no  otiier  play  for  sliding  in 
transportation.  These  proportions,  exactly  2  to  1, 
suggest  a  transverse,  rather  than  (the  conventional 
one  of)  a  longitudinal,  division  of  each  face  of  either 
slab,  yielding  two  columns,  both  exact  squares,  for 
inscription.     Deducting  J  of  a  cubit  for  margin,  we 


have  left  (in  all)  8  spaces,  each  precisely  one  cubit 
square,  for  engraving  the  only  words  ever  known  to 
have  been  directly  written  by  the  Almighty  in  human 
characters.  Presuming  these  to  have  been  identical 
with  those  preserved  to  us  in  the  two  copies  of  tlie 
Ten  Commandments  (although  the  passages  recording 
them,  Exod.  xx,  2-17  ;  Deut.  v,  6-21,  have  some  ver- 
bal variations,  with  regard  to  which  we  may  presume 
that  the  former  is  the  more  exact  transcript),  we  may 
proceed  to  distribute  them  according  to  the  above 
scheme.  With  Masoretic  nicety  we  have  counted 
the  whole  number  of  Heb.  letters  in  each  edition  (so 
to  speak)  of  the  Decalogue  in  the  original,  and  find 
them  to  be  as  in  the  subjoined  table  (including  the  re- 
markable variation  in  the  reason  assigned  for  observ- 
ing ihe  Sabbath,  and  giving  the  notation  of  verses  as  in 
the  English  Bible,  also  the  several  commandments). 


Exod.  JX. 

Deut.    V. 

Comm. 

Verse. 
.2 

Letters. 
41 

Comm. 

Verse. 
6 

Lettera 
40 

I 

3 

23 

I 

7 

24 

II 

4 

59 

II 

8 

58 

5 

74 

9 

74 

6 

29 

10 

29 

III 

7 

51 

III 

11 

51 

IV 

8 

18 

IV 

12 

34 

9 

24 

13 

24 

10 

74 

14 

108 

11 

87 

15 

87 

V 

12 

53 

V 

16 

73 

VI 

13 

6 

VI 

17 

6 

vir 

14 

6 

VII 

18 

7 

VIII 

15 

6 

VIII 

19 

7 

IX 

16 

15 

IX 

20 

16 

X 

17 

54 

X 

21 

60 

From  this  it  appears  tliat  the  first  tabic  (including 
the  prefatory  verse)  would  contain  593  (or  608)  let- 
ters, and  the  second  only  87  (or  96)  letters:  which  is 
so  enormous  a  disparity  as  to  overthrow  this  logical 
division  altogether,  so  far  as  any  recognition  in  the 
original  form  of  the  Decalogue  is  concerned.  (Judging 
from  the  most  ancient  MSS.  and  still  older  inscrip- 
tions, scholars  are  generally  agreed  that  words  were 


THE  8 A  CUED   PERFUMERY. 


3.  As  accessories  to  tlie  sacred  apparatus,  we  may  appropriately  mention  in  this 
connection  the  perfumery  used  for  this  purpose  exclusively,  minute  directions  for  pre- 
paring which  are  given.     This  was  of  two  kinds,  one  a  solid,  the  other  a  liquid. 

(1.)  The  incense,*  burned  as  we  have  seen  above,  was  made  of  equal  parts  of  four 
kinds  of  powerful  spices,  all  of  them  except  one  being  vegetable  gums,  namely  (as  is 
probable),  storax,  f   onycha,  X   galbanum,  |  and  unadulterated  frankincense,  ^  trit- 


uiiiversally  written  wiihout  any  spaces  between  them 
until  comparatively  recent  times.)  The  only  equable 
division  (unless  extensive  gaps  or  vacant  spaces  are 
admitted — a  very  unlikely  supposition)  would  seem 
to  be  to  put  the  commandments  concerning  the  Sab- 
bath and  parents  (which  are  quite  as  much  a  civil 
and  human  as  a  divine  and  religious  statute)  into  the 
second  table ;  thus  making  one  to  contain  337  (or 
277)  letters,  and  the  other  343  (or  427).  By  a  similar 
equalization  the  subdivision  on  the  two  sides  of  each 
table  would  fall,  in  the  first  table  at  the  middle  of  the 
second  commandment,  leaving  three  verses  for  each 
side  (123  or  122  words  to  144);  and  in  the  second 
table  at  the  end  of  the  fourth  commandment,  giving 
four  verses  for  the  first  side  (203  or  333  words),  to 
six  (mostly  very  short)  verses  for  the  second  side 
(140  or  174  words,  the  disparity  in  the  last  possibly 
indicating  a  blank  at  the  end. 

We  have  waded  through  the  special  dissertations 
of  the  following  authors  on  this  subject,  and  received 
but  little  aid  or  comfort  in  archaeological  respects: 
y.  Schmuck  {De  Prceceptorum  Decalogi  Justa  Distri- 
butione,  Leipsic,  1606,  4to; — by  review  of  opinions), 
V.  W.  Wolfrum  {De  DUtrihutione  Decalogi,  Witten- 
berg, 1606,  4to; — by  logical  propositions),  S.  Bohl 
(De  Vera  Divisione  Decalogi,  Rostock,  1637,  4to; — by 
the  Heb.  accents),  C.  Walther  {De  Dualms  Tabulis 
Lapideis,  Konigsburg,  1679,  4to; — by  citations  of 
Jewish  authorities),  J.  J.  Stromeyer  {Harmonia  Deca- 
logi, Jena,  1712,  4to ; — by  parallel  passages),  G.  F. 
Gernhard  {De  Differentia  Noni  et  Decimi  in  Decalogo 
Prcecepti,  Coburg,  1748,  4to; — by  logic  and  review  of 
autliorities),  J.  F.  Hirt  {Primum.  Decalogi  Prceceptum 
non  esse  Negativum,  Jena,  1755,  4to; — by  authority, 
the  accents  and  logic).  Nor  have  we  found  later  dis- 
cussions on  the  same  subject  more  luminous  for 
our  purpose.  Thelogical  and  ecclesiastical  polemics 
seem  to  have  been  the  mainspring  of  inquiry  through- 
out. Keil,  in  his  Commentary  on  the  Pentateuch 
(Clark's  translation,  ii,  108-113),  gives  a  clear  and 
judicious  review  of  the  discussion,  and  settles  upon  a 
distribution  substantially  agreeing  with  ours. 

Now  a  single  slab  of  ordinary  marble,  of  the  size 
indicated  above  (let  us  say,  for  convenience  of  com- 
parison and  calculation,  4  feet  long  by  2  wide),  if 
merely  one  inch  thick,  would  weigh  about  118  pounds. 


as  we  have  computed  from  actually  weighing  a  smaller 
piece.  The  tables  of  the  law  certainly  could  not 
have  been  thinner  than  this,  for  they  would  Iiave 
broken  by  their  own  weight  in  transportation ;  and 
the  stone  was  probably  not  of  less  specific  gravity 
than  marble.  At  this  minimum  estimate,  it  would 
have  been  quite  impossible  for  one  person  to  carry 
two  such  up  a  steep  and  lofty  lull  (as  Moses  did  the 
second  pair  of  tablets),  nor  could  he  have  clasped 
one  of  such  dimensions  under  cither  arm.  It  is  evi- 
dent, tlierefore,  that  they  were  of  but  half  that  size, 
and  thus  intended  to  fit  into  tlie  Ark  side  by  side,  or 
rather  end  to  end.  This  will  reduce  each  to  a  square 
of  about  1|^  cubits,  after  deducting  sufficient  spaoe 
along  the  sides  for  inserting  the  lingers  to  lift  the 
tables  wiien  necessary,  and  will  leave  a  clear  centre 
or  page  for  the  inscription  exactly  one  cubit  square, 
besides  a  suitalile  margin. 

Finally,  it  may  be  interesting  to  note  that  if  this 
interior  square  were  covered  evenly  by  the  lettering, 
there  would  be  an  average  room  of  more  tlian  a 
square  inch  tor  each  letter,  or  (as  most  letters  are 
more  or  less  narrower  than  a  square)  it  would  accom- 
modate characters  about  an  inch  long,  and  leave  an 
ample  blank  or  interval  between  the  lines.  We 
may  therefore  suppose  that  the  words  were  arranged 
in  10  Hues  with  about  15  to  20  letters  to  the  line; 
distributed  probably  in  paragraphs  corresponding  to 
the  several  commandments,  and  perhaps  leaving  some 
of  the  lines  short,  where  the  letters  in  a  clause  were 
fewer  or  smaller  than  the  average. 

*  Heb.  ketoreth  has-sammim,  lit.  intense  of  the 
aromas  {A.  Y.  "sweet  incense"),  i.  e.  perfumed,  in 
order  to  distinguish  it  from  ordinary  fumigation. 

f  Heb.  natdph  (A.  V.  "  stacte"),  lit.  ooze,  i.  c.  distill- 
ing like  drops,  a  resin ;  in  this  case  the  product  of 
the  styrax  officinale,  a  small  tree  of  S}'Tia. 

\  Heb.  shecheleth,  lit.  a  scale  (like  a  fingernail);  the 
shell  of  the  perfumed  mollusk,  hlatta  byzantina,  found 
in  the  Mediterranean,  and  yielding  a  musky  odor  when 
burned. 

I  'Heh.chellendh,\\t.  something/a<,  an  exudation  from 
several  Oriental  plants. 

^Heb.  lehondh,  lit.  something  ivhite:  the  produce  of 
some  species  of  hosivellia,  grown  in  Arabia  and  Judaea. 


eo 


STRUCTURE  OF  THE  TABERNACLE. 


urated  together  to  a  powder  (Exod.  xxx,  34-36).  Late  Jewish  writers  add  to  these 
ingredients  certain  proportions  of  myrrh,  cassia,  spikenard,  saffron  and  salt,  and  also 
state  that  it  was  manufactured  in  quantities  of  368  manehs  (about  825  pounds)  in  a 
particular  room  of  the  Temple  by  a  family  of  the  Levites  delegated  for  that  purpose. 
The  incense  was  burned  twice  a  day  (i.  e.  at  the  time  of  morning  and  evening  sacri- 
fice) on  the  Altar  of  Incense  by  three  priests  (in  a  later  age,  as  we  learn  from  Talmud- 
ical  writers  ;  but  doubtless  in  a  similar  manner  to  the  same  act  performed  once  a  year 
by  the  high-priest  alone  upon  the  Mercy-seat,  Lev.  xvi,  11,  12),  one  of  whom  took 
away  the  golden  fire-pan  and  ashes  of  the  preceding  offering,  another  brought  in  a 
fresh  pan  of  live  coals  from  the  Great  Altar,  while  the  third  performed  the  fuming 
by  throwing  upon  the  coals  successive  pinches  of  the  incense,  of  which  he  carried  a 
double  fistful  in  the  hollow  of  his  left  hand.  (See  the  whole  process  illustrated  very 
analogously  from  the  monuments  in  Wilkinson's  Ancient  Egyptians,  i,  125,  Am.  ed.) 
The  dense  mass  of  smoke,  which  so  highly  volatile  a  substance  as  the  incense  was 
would  immediately  create,  was  readily  carried  off  by  the  open  gables  of  the  front 
room  and  the  vent  at  the  top  of  the  gable  of  the  rear  room.  ' 

(2.)  The  ointment,*  employed  in  the  consecration  of  the  Tabernacle  and  its  priests 
(and  eventually  in  the  inauguration  of  kings  also),  was  composed  of  spontaneously- 
flowing  myrrh  and  cassia,  500  shekels  (about  680  pounds)  each,  and  of  cinnamon  and 
calamus,  half  as  much  each,  w^ith  one  hin  (about  4  quarts)  of  ohve  oil,  carefully  com- 
pounded into  a  paste  (Exod.  xxx,  23-25). 

IV.  The  dress  of  the  sacerdotal  order,  when  on  duty  in  the  sacred  precincts,  was 
minutely  prescribed  (Exod.  xxviii);f  but  as  no  shoes  or  sandals  are  mentioned,  it 
may  be  inferred  that  the  ministrants  all  went  barefoot,  notwithstanding  the  exposure 
in  inclement  weather ;  and  this  is  confirmed  by  the  command  of  Jehovah  to  Moses  on 
the  first  interview  in  this  region,  to  divest  himself  of  foot-covering  in  the  Divine 
Presence  (Exod.  iii,  5).     (See  Plate  VI.) 

1.  The  Levites,  as  being  unconsecrated  individually,  had  no  canonical  robes 
specifically  appointed  for  them ;  and  therefore  wore  the  dress  usual  with  male  Ori- 
entals to  the  present  day.  This  substantially  consists  of  the  following  pieces,  omitting 
the  sandals  for  the  feet,  for  the  reason  assigned  above.  First  there  is  a  nether  gar- 
ment or  shirt,  usually  without  sleeves,  loose  and  flowing  nearly  to  the  knees ;  in 
general  of  white  linen  (now-a-days  cotton,  often  colored),  and  this  is  commonly  the 
only  clothing,  when  the  wearer  is  at  hard  work  ;  but  to  appear  elsewhere  in  such  disha- 
bille was  accounted  as  virtually  being  naked.  (See  Fig.  30.)  In  the  case  of  the  Levites 
we  may  suppose  that  it  was  somewhat  improved  beyond  the  lowest  type,  but  still  it 
doubtless  consisted  (substantially  like  the  drawers  below  described,  but  folded  ver- 
tically) of  a  simple  piece  of  cloth  about  one  yard  wide  and  two  yards  long,  doubled 
at  the  top  (where  a  slit  is  made  for  the  neck),  and  stitched  together  at  the  sides, 


*Lit.  (Exod.  xxx.  25),  "And  tliou  shall  make  it  an 
oil  of  anointing  of  sanctity,  a  perfuming  perfume,  tlie 
work  of  a  perfumer:  an  oil  of  anointing  of  sanctity 
it  shall  be." 


f  The  directions,  as  usual  in  the  sacred  narrative, 
begin  with  the  central  object,  which  is  here  the  in- 
spired ephod;  but  convenience  with  us  requires  the 
opposite  order. 


MODERN   ORIENTAL  DRESS. 


61 


except  an  aperture  at  their  top  for  the  arms,  the  latter  being  covered  haK-way  to 
(the  elbows  by  the  loose  folds  at  the  corners.  This  garment  is  held  close  to  the 
body  in  the  middle  by  a  (j'lnUe.,  an  essential  article  of  apparel,  which  served  to  form 
a  pocket  in  the  bosom  and  for  tucking  in  the  ends  of  the  skirts  when  running,  etc. 
(See  Fig.  31.)  Next  comes,  with  all  well-dressed  people,  an  upper  garment  or 
mantle,,  frequently  (among  the  poor)  consisting  only  of  a  simple  piece  of  cloth  (linen 
or  wool,  colored  or  plain,  according  to  circumstances),  thrown  loosely  around  the 
shoulders  like  a  shawl,  and  hanging  down  nearly  to  the  feet ;  but  in  more  respectable 
society  frequently  assuming  the  form  of  a  gown,  with  sleeves,  especially  when  in  public 
with  no  other  garment.  Besides  these  is  a  turhan,  or  square  piece  of  thin  cloth  (linen 
in  those  days  of  course),  folded  diagonally,  and  wound  skilfully  about  the  head,  the 


Fig.  27.— a  Fvlhih  l\-;isant. 


Fig.  28.  — a  Bedawin  Sheik. 


ends  being  tucked  in  (see  Fig.  33) ;  and  lastly,  a  cloak  (Arab,  abba)  for  rough  weather, 
consisting  of  a  long,  thick  woollen  shawl,  with  a  hole  for  the  neck,  and  wrapped  close 
about  the  entire  body.  On  holiday  or  particular  occasions,  these  would  be  exchanged 
for  new,  clean  and  bright  garments  of  the  same  kind,  or  (among  the  upper  classes)  for 
other  more  elaborate  ones,  accompanied  by  ornaments,  chiefly  in  the  form  of  jewelry, 
such  as  anklets,  bracelets,  etc. ;  for  even  men  in  the  East  do  not  disdain  such  finery. 
We  may  presume  that  the  Levites,  like  other  la^Tnen,  were  decked  vrith  something  of 
this  higher  style  while  ministering  ("  in  the  beauty  of  holiness,"  lit.  in  the  ornament 
of  sanctity,  i.  e.  in  festive  attire,  1  Chron.  ^\\.  29;  2  Chron.  xx,  21;  Psa.  xxix,  2; 
9).     The  annexed  drawings,  from  photographs  of  modern  natives  of  the  Desert 


xcvi. 


(Figs.  27,  28),  are  probably  fair  representations  of  the  common  out-door  garb  of  secu- 
lar Hebrews,  of  the  upper  and  lower  classes  respectively,  at  the  period  of  the  Exode. 
2.  For  all  priests,  however,  a  peculiar  costume  or  "  uniform  "  was  imperatively 


62 


STRUCTURE  OF  THE  TABERNACLE. 


ordered,  while  they  were  officially  serving  at  the  Sanctuary,  although  of  course  on 
other  occasions  and  elsewhere  they  wore  the  ordinary  dress  of  plain  citizens.  It  is 
described  in  Exod.  xxviii,  40-43 ;  xxix,  8,  9,  as  consisting  substantially  of  four 
articles,  in  which  we  may  easily  recognise  the  most  essential  of  the  above  Oriental 
elements  of  apparel,  with  one  additional ;  and  those  appear  to  be  all  that  ordinary 
priests  were  to  wear,  while  the  High-priest  was  to  have  the  same  with  certain  peculi- 
arities and  additions.  In  the  case  of  common  priests  it  served  as  a  distinction  from 
laical  apparel  and  also  from  the  Levitical,  by  being  of  a  more  ornamental  style  (A.  V. 
lit.  "  for  glory  and  for  beauty,"  the  latter  word  being  the  same  which  we  have  above 
translated  "  ornament,"  but  here  enhanced  by  a  stronger  term  prefixed  as  an  adj.,  i.  e. 
"  an  honorary  ornament  "  or  official  badge). 

(1.)  First  was  a  pair  of  linen  drawers  *  worn  for  the  sake  of  decency  (as  is  ex- 
pressly stated) ;  which,  we  apprehend,  were  not  in  the  Occidental  form  of  trowsers, 


r  ^  » 

Fig.  29 — Moilern  Oriental  Drawers  for  a  Gentleman. 


Fig.  30.— Modem  Oriental  Shirt. 


but  the  nether  integument  (Arabic  I'lhas)  of  a  modern  Oriental  dragoman  or  other 
genteel  person,  consisting  merely  of  a  single  piece  of  linen  cloth,  but  thin  and  of 
natural  color,  in  the  case  of  ordinary  priests,  about  a  yard  wide  and  two  yards  long, 
doubled  transversely  into  a  square  bag,  and  stitched  together  at  one  side  and  at  the 
bottom ;  with  the  (selvedge)  top  open  so  as  to  be  drawn  together  by  a  cord  around 
the  waist,  and  a  hole  left  in  each  bottom  corner  for  the  legs,  being  fulled  up  so  as  to 
be  gathered  by  a  similar  cord  at  the  upper  part  of  the  calf  like  a  garter.  (See  Fig.  29.) 
It  is  loose  and  cool,  and  though  somewhat  clumsy  (as  the  width  hangs  in  folds  between 
the  legs,  and  stretches  out  in  walking),  yet  not  ungraceful,  presenting  a  decent 
medium  between  frock-skirts  and  pantaloons.     Vulgar  people,  who   otherwise  go 


*  Heb.  only  in  the  dual  miknesdyim,  lit.  douhh 
wrappers  (A.  V.  "  breeches "),  used  only  of  this 
article,  whicli,  appears  to  have  been  devised  for  the 
purpose;  for  Oriental  nomads  as  well  as  peasants 
are  proverbially  sans-culottes.     Tliey  reached  "  from 


the  loins  and  as  far  as  the  thighs,"  which  must  mean 
that  they  entirely  covered  botli  these  parts,  i.  e.  they 
went  to  the  knee  and  necessarily  enough  below  this 
to  fasten  securely  and  comfortably.  The  legs,  like 
tiie  feet,  were  doubtless  bare. 


THE   SACEBDOTAL    GARMENTS. 


63 


entirely  naked  wliile  at  work  in  the  open  fields,  especially  in  the  sultry  climate  of 
Egypt,  wear,  in  lieu  of  this,  a  simple  loin-cloth.* 

(2.)  Next  came  the  tunic  f  either  of  unbleached  linen  or  of  wool,  according  to 
weather  (plain  for  the  ordinary  priest),  not  long  (for  it  was  no  doubt  tucked  into  the 
drawers,  like  a  shirt),  and  (it  is  generally  thought)  with  sleeves  (although  none  are 
alluded  to  in  Scripture,  and  the  statements  of  Josephus  and  the  Rabbins  are  too  late 
for  this  period),  being  evidently  the  common  Oriental  undress  of  the  present  day  as 
above.     (See  Fig.  30.) 

(3.)  At  the  middle,  where  these  two  articles  met,  and  covering  their  union,  was 
the  sash,:]:  indispensable  (as  seen  above)  at  the  present  day  in  the  East ;  consisting  of 
a  broad  band  of  woollen  cloth,  usually  of  bright  color  (here,  in  the  case  of  an  ordinary 
priest,  merely  variegated,  it  is  most  likely),  at  least  two  yards  long,  wound  into  a 
girdle  about  the  waist,  and  tied  together  in  front,  the  ends  hanging  do\ATi  like  tassels. 
(See  Fig.  31.)     The  high-priest's  sash  was  quite  different.     (See  Plate  VI,  Z*,  iii.) 


Fig.    31. — Modern  Oriental  Girdle  (e.xtendedj. 

(4.)  Surmounting  the  figure,  and  completing  the  sacerdotal  apparel,  was  the  cap 
(the  material  again  not  prescribed),  for  which  a  different  term  §  is  emploj^ed  respect- 
ing ordinary  priests  from  that  used  in  the  case  of  the  high-priest.  In  the  absence  of 
all  distinctive  details,  we  are  left  to  the  mere  etymological  force  of  the  word,  aided 
somewhat  by  the  customs  of  ancient  and  modern  Orientals ;  and  therefore  we 
hazard  the  conjecture  that  the  common  priestly  head-covering  was  simply  the  skull- 
cap (Arabic  arakiyeh)^  which  is  now  worn  by  Syrian  Mohammedans  night  and  day 
(being  frequently  changed  of  course),  as  they  generally  shave  the  head  ;  whereas  th& 


*  The  description  of  Oriental  dress  in  Lane's 
Modern  Egyptians,  i,  39,  is  minute,  but  too  elaborate 
to  suit  the  Israelites,  being  largely  affected  b}'  Turk- 
ish and  P]uropean  associations.  The  same  is  true 
likewise  of  most  modern  descriptions  of  tlie  costumes 
of  Syria  and  Asia  Minor.  Tlie  ancient  Hebrew  dress, 
especially  of  the  period  of  the  Exode,  more  nearly 
approached  the  present  Bedawin  type,  which  has 
never  materially  changed.  The  specimen  in  Cant. 
V,  11-15,  is  of  course  an  unusual  or  wedding  suit. 
The  extreme  simplicity  of  the  principal  Oriental  gar- 
ments makes  them  fit  almost  any  person  indifferently 
(.Tudg.  xiv,  19;  Matt,  xxii,  11). 

f  Heb.  kethonetfi,  lit.  a  coverer,  A.  V.  "  coat,"  always 
the  garment  next  to  the  skin:  as  in  Gen.  iii,  21. 
Wlieri  it  readied  to  the  ankles,  like  a  gown,  it  was 
properly  distinguished  by  the   epithet  passim  (lit.  of 


the  steps,  i.  e.  feet,  A  V.  "  of  many  [divers]  col- 
ours," Gen.  xxxvii,  3 ;  2  Sam.  xiii,  18).  The  male 
dress  of  Orientals  is  much  shorter  than  that  of  Occi- 
dentals. "We  must  be  constantly  on  our  guard 
against  copying  European  fashions  in  our  represent* 
ations  of  this  subject.  Facility  of  motion  was 
the  main  requisite  with  the  ancients  in  this  matter, 
and  even  partial  nudity  was  of  little  account,  espe- 
ciallv  in  ordinary  avocations. 

^  Heb.  abnet,  lit.  a  hand  (A.  T.  "  girdle  "),  a  foreign 
word,  used  only  of  this  priestly  article,  and  thence 
transferred  to  the  girdle  of  a  man  of  rank  (Isa.  xxii, 
21).  It  was  therefore  not  the  common  belt  (Heb. 
cliagor.  a  hinder,  fern,  chagordh,  which  is  the  term 
usu;illy  rendered  "girdle"  in  the  A.  V.). 

g  ITeb.  miliijmh,  lit.  something  arched,  A.  V.  "bon- 
net." 


64 


STRUCT UME  OF  THE  TABERNACLE. 


Hebrews  appear  to  liave  kept  their  full  hair,  and  to  liave  dispensed  with  any  head- 
dress in  ordinary  avocations.*  (See  Fig.  32.)  If  we  are  correct,  this  priestly  cap  was 
made  up  to  fit  tlie  liead,  and  of  this  we  shall  find  some  confirmation  when  we  come 
to  consider  tlie  high-priest's  head-dress.     (See  Plate  VI,  D.) 

3.  The  pontifical  regalia  we  will  accordingly  discuss  in  the  same  order,  noting 
first  the  fact  that  all  the  articles  above  elucidated  are  present  in  some  form  or  other 

in  the  higli-priest's  attire  likewise, 
the  drawers,  shirt  and  cap  remain- 
ing unchanged,  except  as  to  color 
and  thickness  of  fabric.f  Tlie 
tunic  is  now  said  to  be  check- 
ered,:}: i.  e.  laid  oft'  in  regular 
blocks  by  stripes  of  threads  of 
thicker  (double  -  stranded)  and 
bleached  linen  both  in  tlie  Avarp 
and  the  woof  at  regular  intervals 
among  the  thinner  (single-strand- 
ed) threads  of  the  bleached  linen 
foundation  (for  it  was  all  still 
one  color  and  material),  like  the 
"  plaid  muslin "  of  the  present  day.  The  sash  was  embroidered  with  needle-work, 
of  fancy  pattern,  we  presume,  probably  uniform,  because  no  figure  is  mentioned,  and 
(if  a  regular  one)  it  would  be  distorted  by  the  folds  and  the  knot.  The  cap  is  ex- 
changed for  (or  perhaps,  as  in  the  modei-n  East,  inclosed  in)  a  regular  turban  ^  whicli, 


Fig.  32 — Modern  Oriental  Skull-cap.    (From  a  Syrian  Specimen.) 


*  We  presume,  however,  that  when  greatly  ex- 
posed out-of-doors,  they  wore  something  correspond- 
ing to  the  Bedawin  kefiyeh  for  men,  and  the  vail  for 
women;  both  of  which  are  nothing  but  a  square 
piece  of  cloth  cast  over  the  head  and  hanging  down 
over  the  shoulders,  the  men  usually  fancying  gay 
colors,  and  holding  theirs  on  b}'  a  cord  around  the 
head.     (See  Fig.  28.) 

f  In  E-xod.  x.xxi.x,  27-29,  the  shirts  and  caps  are 
said  to  be  of  bleached  linen,  and  the  drawers  of 
double-twisted  material  of  the  same  sort,  "  for  Aaron 
and  his  sons;"  but  from  the  fact  that  in  the  same 
list  several  articles  are  enumerated  wliich  were  as- 
signed to  the  high-priest  alone,  it  would  appear  that 
the  addition  "and  his  sons"  there  desiguates  only 
the  prospective  iiigh-priests  (as  in  xxviii,  4).  and  not 
ordinary  priests,  for  whom  accordingly  these  pieces 
of  clothing  are  elsewhere  (xxviii,  40-43)  specified  as 
being  of  "  linen  "  simply,  i.  e.  thin  unbleached  stuff. 

X  Heb.  in  tlie  nitensive  conjugation,  shibhets,  to 
interweave  {k.  V.  "embroider"),  which  is  used  only 
here  and  of  the  square  reticulated  setting  of  a  gem 
(Kxod,  xxviii,  20),  besides  the  derivative  noun  task- 
bets   (A.  V.    "  broiderod "),  applied  likewise    to  this 


tunic  only  (Exod  xxviii,  4).  The  material  is  explicitly 
represented  as  to  consist  wholly  o(bleoched  stufl{sbesh, 
"  fine  linen,"  ver.  39),  in  distinction  from  tlie  natural 
color  of  the  unbleached  flax  {bad,  simple  "  linen,"  ver. 
42)  of  the  drawers.  The  art  of  weaving  in  "  diaper 
pattern,"  which  is  a  square  checker,  or  in  "  damask 
pattern,"  which  is  figured,  but  both  without  a  change 
of  material  or  color,  the  former  being  white,  and  the 
latter  crimson,  can  hardly  have  been  known  at  this 
earl}'  date  or  employed  under  the  circumstances,  as 
it  requires  an  extra  or  twilled  process  running  diag- 
onall}'.  The  crossing  of  bands  or  stripes  wider  than 
one  or  two  of  the  heavy  corded  threads  of  the 
"  twined  "  or  double-stranded  linen  would  have  made 
an  uncomfortable  ridge.     (See  Plate  VI,  Z>,  i.) 

§  Heb.  mitsnepheth,  a  coiling  (A.  V.  "mitre"),  used 
only  for  this  pontifical  article,  and  once  (Kzek.  xxi, 
26)  for  the  '•  diadem  "  of  a  prince;  the  simpler  form 
tsaniph  being  employed  indiscriminately  ("mitre," 
Zech.  iii,  5;  "diadem,"  Job.  xxix,  14;  Isa.  Ixii.  3; 
"hood,"  Isa.  iii,  23),  and  the  corresponding  verb 
tiandph,  applied  to  convolutions  (Isa.  xxii.  18),  as 
well  as  to  this  piece  of  attire  (Lev.  xvi,  4).  We  have 
avoided  all  unnecessary  complications. 


THE  HIGH-PRIESTS  APPAREL. 


63 


although  hkewise  of  plain  white  linen,  was  thus  distinguished  from  the  simpler  head- 
dress  of  the  ordinary  priest,  *     (See  Fig.  33.) 

A  notable  addition  to  this  pontilical  head-gear  was  a  gold  tablet  f  tied  with  a 
violet  (and  therefore  woollen)  string  X  (doubtless  by  passing  it  through  a  hole  at  eacli 
end)  around  the  head,  displaying  on  the  front  the  engraved  motto  (in  the  old  Ileb 
characters),  SANCxriY  to  Jehovah,  i.  e.  consecrated  to  his  exclusive  service.  § 

(1.)  Proceeding  now  to  the  vestments  altogether  peculiar  to  the  pontiff,  as  com 
pared  with  his  subalterns,  we  have  a  robe,  I|  which  was  but  another  tunic,  of  simple; 
pattern  and  without  sleeves,  being  in  fact  of  the  form  which  we  have  above  describee 
as  that  of  an  ordinary  Oriental  shirt,  the  selvedge  merely  stitched  together  for  sides. 
Avith  openings  for  the  arms,  and  the  hole  in  the  fold  at  the  top  bound  (like  a  coat  oi 


Fig.  33.— Modern  Oriental  Turban  (folded). 

mail,  A.  V.  "  habergeon  ")  with  an  edge  woven  on  in  making,  to  prevent  its  ravelling 
or  tearing.!"  It  was  to  be  wholly  of  violet,  hence  wool  both  warp  and  woof.  It  was 
probably  long  enough  to  reach  about  to  the  knee.  The  bottom  hem  was  decorated 
with  a  fringe  consisting  of  alternate  little  bells  of  gold  (probably  a  globe  with  a  ball 
within  it,  like  modern  sleigh-bells)  and  artificial  pomegranates  (i.  e.  globular  tassels) 
of  M'oollen  threads  (tufted,  as  we  presume,)  of  the  three  sacred  colors,  violet,  purple 
and  crimson  (not  mixed,  we  opine,  but  one  of  each  in  regular  succession,  like  the 
bands  on  the  curtains) ;  the  bells  (as  is  intimated)  being  designed  for  giving  notice  of 


*  Josephus's  account  of  the  high-priest's  dress  ma}'' 
possibly  represent  witli  some  degree  of  accuracy  tlie 
fantastic  fashions  of  his  own  age.  The  tiara  is  es- 
pecially ornamental ;  yet  it  does  not  wholly  disguise 
the  simpler  form  of  earlier  times  as  we  have  eluci- 
dated it.  Its  triple  form  is  probably  due  to  the 
addition  of  the  diadem  by  the  Asinona^ans  as  princes, 
like  the  papal  crown. 

f  Heb.  tsits,  lit.  a  glitter,  i.  e.  a  "  plate,"  or  narrow- 
thin  strip. 

\  Heb.  pefhil,  lit.  huist,  a  thread  (A.  V.  "lace  "). 

§  As  the  early  Jewish  writers  are  not  agreed  upon 
the  width  of  this  golden  plate,  nor  whether  the  in- 
scription was  in  one  line  or  two,  we  have  consulted 
the  proprieties  of  the  case,  and  the  good  taste  of  the 
majority  of  archseologists,  in  the  matter.  Josephus 
states  that  the  pontifical  frontlet  made  by  Solomon 
was  in  existence  in  his  own  day  {Antiquities  of  the 
■Jeivs,  VIII,  iii,  6).  In  that  case  it  was  probably 
among  the  spoils  of  Jerusalem  exhibited  at  the  tri- 
umph of  Titus,  and  fin;dly  deposited  in  the  temple  of 
Peace  at  Rome  ( Wa7-s  of  the  Jews,  VII,  v,  7).  Origen, 
liowever,  asserts  tliatit  was  the  original  one  of  Aaron, 
«vnd  that  it  remained  till  his  time ;  as  also  that  it  was 


inscribed  with  Samaritan  characters,  by  which  of 
course  he  means  the  antique  Hebrew  (Whiston's  note 
on  Josephus,  Antiquities  of  the  Jews,  III,  vii,  6). 

II  Heb.  meil,  lit.  an  upper  (i.  e.  outer)  garment, 
spoken  of  any  such  piece  of  clotliing  in  general  use, 
sometimes  "mantle  "  in  the  A.  X. 

Tf  The.  text  is  very  explicit  (ver.  31,  32),  lit. :  "  And 
thou  slialt  make  a  robe  of  the  ephod,  wholly  violet; 
and  there  shall  be  a  mouth  [i.  e.  hole]  of  its  head 
[i.  e.  top]  in  its  middle:  a  lip  [i.  e.  selvedge  or  woven 
edge]  there  shall  be  to  its  mouth  around :  the  work 
of  a  weaver,  like  the  mouth  of  a  corslet,  there  shall 
be  to  it:  it  shall  not  be  torn."  In  other  words,  it 
was  to  be  a  single  piece  of  cloth,  with  an  opening 
for  the  neck  made  in  the  weaving.  This  could  only 
be  effected,  in  the  simple  loom  of  those  daj's,  by 
parting  the  threads,  both  of  the  warp  and  the  woof, 
around  a  cylinder  inserted  for  that  purpose,  and 
holding  them  in  place  by  double  overcast  stitches 
crossing  each  other  in  opposite  directions.  It  wa« 
not  to  be  cut,  but  of  course  had  a  hemmed  bottom 
(ver  33),  and  a  seam  at  the  side,  with  a  space  left 
open  as  an  arm-hole.  The  seamless  "  coat "  of  later 
times  (John  xix,  23)  was  a  tmdc. 


66 


STRUCTURE   OF   THE   TABERNACLE. 


the  functionary's  approach  (so  that  no  impure  person  or  thing  might  meet  him,  and 
thus,  however  inadvertently  or  unconsciously  to  him,  expose  him  to  divine  visitation 

for  entering  upon  his  duties  in  that  condition),  and 
the  woollen  balls  to  aiiord  variety.  As  their  num- 
ber is  not  given,  we  may  conjecturally  hang  them 
(by  a  golden  wire  or  yelloM-^  silk  cord)  ^  of  a  cubit 
apart,  making  perhaps  12  bells  and  as  many  tassels,. 
four  of  each  color.*     (See  Plate  YI,  i>,  ii.) 

(2.)  Immediately  over  this  article  of  dress 
(hence  called  "  the  robe  of  the  ephod  ")  was  placed 
the  principal  token  of  the  high-priest's  rank,  called 
the  ephod  (its  Heb.  name,  signifying  a  girdle,  but 
not  the  common  word  for  that  piece  of  apparel) ; 
which  was  made  of  the  same  stuff  as  the  Vail, 
tricolor  woollen  bands  on  a  white  double-stranded 
linen  ground,  embroidered  ^\\t\\  figures  (we  pre- 
sume vine-form  tracery)  in  gold  (thin  plates  cut 
into  narrow  strips  and  used  as  thread,  Exod.  xxxix, 
13).  It  consisted  of  two  shoulder-pieces, f  sewed 
together  by  the  raw  edges  in  a  seam ;  ^  hence  each 
about  1  cubit  wide  by  1|-  long,  hanging  by  the  neck 
(where  a  hole  of  course  was  made  and  bound),  one 
over  the  bosom,  and  the  other  over  the  back,  dow^n 
to  the  waist  (very  much  like  the  chasid)le  of  a  Roman 
Catholic  priest).  These  were  fastened  (doubtless  at  the  bottom)  by  a  belting-strap  § 
(one  of  course  on  each  side),  made  of  the  same  materials  as  the  ephod  itself  (the 
ends  tied  together  in  a  bow-knot  at  the  hip).  At  the  top  seam,  in  the  middle  (as 
we  presume)  of  the  shoulder  slope,  M^ere  (sewed  on)  two  studs  (one  on  each  side),  con- 
sisting each  of  onyx,  |  large  enough  (perhaps  -^^  of  a  cubit  square)  to  contain  the 


Fio.  34. — Ancient  Egyptian  Chief-priest 
(with  apron-like  drawers,  leopard  -skin 
ephod,  tankard  for  libation,  and  censer). 


*The  Rabbinical  statements  concerning  the  72 
bells  on  the  high-priest's  robe,  and  that  it  was  woven 
seamless  (Ederslieim,  The  Temple  and  its  Services, 
pp.  72,  73),  relate  to  customs  introduced  at  a  later  age 
tlian  that  of  which  we  treat.  It  does  not  follow 
from  the  allusions  in  Rev.  i,  13:  xv,  6,  that  the  pon- 
tifical girdle  was  but  a  little  below  the  arm-pit-;,  for 
in  that  case  the  bottom  of  the  breastplate  could  not 
have  been  fastened  to  it;  anymore  tlian  that  the 
robe  reached  to  the  feet,  as  it  clearly  did  not  (Ibid, 
p.  72).  Tliese  last  two  features,  in  the  case  of  an 
active  finictionary,  would  have  been  effeminate,  dis- 
proportioned  and  inconvenient.  They  are  borrowed 
from  the  description  of  Josephiis  (Antiquities  of  the 
Jews,  III,  vii,  2),  but  are  not  countenanced  by  the 
language  of  the  sacred  text,  as  belonging  to  the 
original  attire  of  the  liigh-priest. 


f  Heb.  sing,  katheph,  lit.  a  lateral  projection,  desig- 
nating the  top  or  ridge  of  the  shoulder,  in  distinction 
from  the  back  part  or  shoulder-blade,  for  which  a 
different  word  is  employed. 

I  The  Heb.  terms  are  the  same  as  those  whicli  we 
have  shown,  in  discussing  the  Tabernacle  curtains, 
to  be  carefully  used  in  these  senses.  The  ephod  was 
not  a  single  piece,  like  the  robe  over  which  it  was 
worn,  but  made  to  be  joined  togetlier  at  the  top  (the 
open  sides  were  of  course  the  straight  selvedge),  be- 
cause that  part  had  to  be  nicely  fitted  to  the  slope  of 
the  shoulders,  as  it  was  to  sustain  several  appendages. 

§  Heb,  chesed  appudatho,  lit.  "strap  of  its  belting," 
the  latter  term  being  from  the  same  root  as  ephod. 

II  Heb.  shoham,  of  obscure  derivation,  and  designat- 
ing some  kind  of  gem.  but  certainly  not  the  diamond, 
for  that  cannot  be  engraved,  and  is  too  small  and 


THE  BREASTPLATE. 


67 


engraved  letters  of  6  of  the  names  of  the  twelve  sons  of  Israel  (beginning  probably 
with  that  on  the  right  shoulder,  and  arranged,  we  may  suppose,  from  analogy  of  the 
loaves  of  show-bread,  in  a  single  column).  *  The  stone  was  set  in  a  reticulated  gold 
plate  t  (sewed  by  the  interstices  on 
the  garment),  to  which  was  attached 
a  twisted  gold  chain  (ht.  links  .  .  . 
wreathed  .  .  .  cords,  A.  V.  "  chains 
...  at  the  ends  .  .  .  wreathen  "),  for 
fastening  it  to  the  pectoral,  as  present- 
ly explained.  (See  Plate  YI,  Z>,  iv.) 
(3.)  This  last  named,  which  was 
the  crowning  glory  of  the  high- 
priest's  regalia,  and  the  most  sacred 
talisman  of  his  office,  is  styled  a 
spangle  (from  its  sparkling  gold  and 
flasliing  gems),:}:  and  was  substantially 
a  bag  of  the  same  materials  as  the 
ephod  itself,  one  span  (or  half  a  cubit, 
i.  e.  about  10  inches)  square,  when 
folded  (at  the  bottom,  and  sewed  to- 
gether at  the  sides) ;  the  face  (or  outer 
layer)  having  on  it  (apparently 
stitched  on  like  studs,  at  regular  in- 
tervals, but  probably  very  close  to- 
gether, so  as  to  bend  to  fit  the  person)  gold  plates  (doubtless  of  the  same  general  style 
as  those  on  the  shoulders),  in  which  were  set  precious  stones,  in  four  rows,  engraved 
respectively  with  the  names  of  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel. §     The  entire  "  breastplate  " 


Fig.  35.— The  Ephod  (extended). 


costly.  It  was  the  same  as  the  eleventh  stone  in 
the  breastplate. 

*  The  longest  of  these  names  (we  suppose  them 
here  to  be  set  down  in  the  actual  order  of  birth, 
namely,  Reuben,  Simeon,  Levi,  Judah,  Dan,  Naphtali, 
Gad,  Issachar,  Asher,  Zebulon,  Joseph,  Benjamin), 
is  in  the  Heb.  Benjamin,  which  has  6  letters  (siiow- 
ing  that  our  arrangement  would  produce  a  square) ; 
and  if  the  names  were  displayed  separately  (not  run 
together,  as  often  in  old  MSS.  and  inscriptions),  our 
estimate  would  allow  each  letter  a  space  of  y^  of  a 
cubit  (about  ^  of  an  inch,  wliich  is  considerably  larger 
than  '-great  primer,"  the  largest  type  used  in  modern 
book-printing).     (See  Plate  VI,  D,  vi). 

f  Heb.  minhietseih,  a  texture  by  embroidery  (Psa. 
xlv,  13,  "  wrought "),  hence  a  netted  socket  for  a 
gem  ("  ouch ").  The  Heb.  term  here  used  for  the 
mode  of  in.sertion  rmu^abboth  (A.  V.  "set  in,"  "in- 
closed in"),  although  originally  the  fem.  plur.  of  a 
pass,  participle   meaning  turned  about,  is  constantly 


used  as  a  noun,  in  the  sense  of  reversal,  and  therefore 
always  stands  before  the  word  which  it  qualifies  (in  the 
construct),  and  not  after  it  (as  an  adjective  would). 
Accordingly  we  must  here  render,  "  Reverses  of  net- 
tings of  gold  slialt  thou  make  them ;  and  in  xxxix, 
6,  "reverses  of  nettings  of  gold,"  and  in  xxxix,  l^, 
"reverses  of  nettings  of  gold  in  their  bezels."  In 
like  manner,  at  Ezek.  xli,  24  (A.  Y.,  "two  turning 
leaves"),  we  must  render  "two  folds  of  leaves;" 
and  in  the  sole  remaining  occurrence  of  the  word 
(Num.  xxxii,  38,  A.  V.,  "  their  names  being  changed  "'), 
no  other  rendering  is  grammatically  possible  than 
parenthetically  "  transmutations  of  names." 

I  Heb.  chrjshen,  lit.  (it  would  seem,  for  the  root  is 
found  in  no  otiier  word)  a  glistening  (A.  V.  "breast- 
plate "),  used  only  of  this  particular  ornament ;  often 
with  the  additional  epithet,  "of  judgment."  because 
oracular  decisions  were  obtained  by  its  means. 

§  In  this  case  we  presume  the  names  were  in  the 
conventional  order  of  encampment    (in   which  the 


68 


STRUCTURE   OF  TUB   TABERNACLE. 


was  held  upon  the  ephod  by  fastenings  that  are  minutely  and  somewhat  intricately 
described.*     "We  epitomize  by  saying  that  the  pectoral  had  a  gold  ring  in  each  of 


same  division  of  4X3  occurs),  as  in  the  annexed  dia- 
gram, doubtless  three  columns  of  four  names  eacli. 


room    for  letters    mucli   larger  than   those   on   the 
shoulder-studs.     The  modern   equivalents  of    few  if 


3.  Zebulon 

2.  Issachar 

1.  Judah 

6.  Gad 

5.  Simeon 

4.  Reuben 

9.  Benjamin 

8.  Mana.s>eh 

7.  Epln'aiin 

12.  Naphtali 

11.  Aslier 

10.   Dan 

as  symmetry  of  space  requires,  and  as  a  "  row"  in  I  any  of  the  gems  are  known  with  certainty  (compare 
reading  would  mean  (but  not  elsewhere).  As  there  the  similar  list  in  Rev.  xxi,  19,  20).  The  following 
was  but  one  name  on  each  stone,    tiiere   would  be  I  table  identifies  them  as  nearl)'  as  may  be: 


Row.     Order. 


"•] 


III. 


IV, 


10. 

11. 

12. 


A.   V.    RENDERING. 


Heb.  name. 


■  Sardius  " 

•Topaz" , 

'  Carbuncle" 

'  Emerald"  .... 
'  Sapphire  " 

■  Diamond" .... 

'  Ligure  " 

•Ajfate" 

■  Amethyst " 

•Beryl"    

•  Ouy.x  " j  shiihatn  . . . 

•  Jasper  " |  yashephelh 


(idem 

pitddh . . . . 
bariketh  . . 

iihphek 

mppir 

ynhnlom . . 
teshem. . . . 

sheho 

achlamdh. 
tarshish  . . 


Mod. 


carneliMU  . . 
chrysolite  . 

emerald 

garnet  

lapis-lazuli. 
chalcedony. 

jacinth 

agate 

amethyst . . 

topaz 

beryl  

.jrt'^'per 


1'rob.  color. 

litrlit  red. 
bright  yellow. 
gras.s  green, 
dark  red. 
deep  blue, 
pink, 
buff. 

red  streaks, 
purplish, 
dull  yellow, 
pale  irnen. 
clouded  graj'. 


*  In  this  passage  (Exod.  xxviii,  22-28)  it  will  be  ob- 
served by  the  critical  reader,  that  we  have  three 
terms  carefully  applied  to  the  different  aspects  of  a 
piece  of  cloth,  precisely  in  accordance  with  the  sig- 
nification that  we  have  previously  pointed  out ; 
although  they  are  confused  in  the  A.  V.:  eber  is  the 
surface  (as  of  the  tables  of  the  Law),  saphdh  is  the 
free  selvedge,  and  katsdh  is  a  hemmed  (or  at  least 
seamed)  end.  The  other  expressions  in  this  descrip- 
tion are  also  as  before  explained.  For  the  sake  of 
clearness  we  literally  translate  the  whole  of  the 
last  paragraph,  with  explanatory  interpolations  in 
brackets. 

Ver.  22.  "  And  thou  shalt  make  upon  the  breastplate 
wreathed  chains  [i.  e.  links  twisted  or  bent  so  as  to 
lie  all  flat],  the  work  of  cords  [i.  e.  links  of  round 
wire],  pure  gold." 

Ver.  23.  "  And  thou  shalt  make  upon  the  breast- 
plate two  rings  of  gold;  and  thou  shalt  put  the  two 
rings  upon  the  two  ends  [katsdh  (i.  e.  upper  or  hemmed 
edge)  ]  of  the  breastplate." 

Ver.  24.  "And  thou  shalt  put  the  two  cords  [i.  e. 


chains]  of  gold  upon  the  two  rings  towards  the  ends 
[katsdh]  of  the  breastplate." 

Ver.  25.  "  And  the  two  [other]  ends  [katidh  (i.  e. 
the  end-links  destitute  of  a  hook)  ]  of  the  two  cords 
[i.  e.  gold  chains  (namclj-,  those  previously  mentioned, 
ver.  14)]  thou  shalt  put  upon  the  two  intertextures 
[i.  e.  reticulated  settings],  and  [thus]  thou  shalt  put 
[them]  upon  the  shoulders  [i.  e.  sides]  of  the  ephod, 
towards  the  front  of  its  face  [(the  same  expression 
as  used  concerning  the  gable  overlap  of  the  roof- 
canvas),  i.  e.  across  its  very  face]." 

Ver.  26.  "And  thou  shalt  make  two  [other]  rings 
of  gold,  and  thou  shalt  put  them  upon  the  two  ends 
[katsdh  (i.  e.  lower,  but  still  seamed  edges,  because 
the  two  selvedges  are  there  sewed  together)]  of  the 
breastplate,  upon  its  selvedges  [saphdh,  i.  e.  still 
such,  although  double],  which  [are]  towards  the 
surface  [ebei-]  of  the  ephod  inward  [i.  e.  lie  close  upon 
the  ephod  beneath,  and  never  rise  from  it,  as  do  the 
upper  corners,  when  the  mouth  of  the  sack  is 
opened]." 

Ver.  27.  "  And  thou  shalt  [also]  make  two  [corre- 


URIM  AND    THUMMIM. 


69 


its  four  corners ;  the  two  at  the  top  were  joined  to  the  ephod  bj  a  continuation  of  the 
twisted  chains  ah-eadj  attached  to  the  shoulder-studs  (the  hook  being  apparently  [as 
usual  in  such  cases]  on  the  end  of  the  upper  chain  for  entering  any  convenient  link 
in  the  lower  chain) ;  the  bottom  rings  were  tied  by  a  violet  cord  to  rings  inserted  in 
the  ephod  at  the  point  where  the  straps  branched  off.  These  four  fastenings  (the 
upper  ones  stronger,  as  bearing  the  weight)  would  stretch  diagonally  and  keep  the 
pectoral  extended  and  yet  closed,  at  the  middle  of  the  breast.  (See  Plate  YI,  D,  v.) 
(4.)  Finally,  the  sacred  pocket  thus  suspended  over  the  very  heart  of  the  high- 
priest,  where  it  would  be  inviolably  safe,  and  at  the  same  time  accessible  at  a  moment's 


Fig.  36.— Twisted  Chain. 

notice,  was  designed — in  a  manner  analogous  (as  we  shall  presently  see  more  fully)  to 
the  inmost  Ark  of  the  Sanctuary — as  a  place  of  deposit  for  the  most  priceless  boon  of 
God  to  his  fallen,  erring  children,  a  mode  of  ascertaining  his  will.  The  physical  in- 
strument of  this  form  of  divine  communication  was  the  famous  Uriin  and  Thunimirn, 
Hebrew  terms  that  have  greatly  vexed  the  learning  and  ingenuity  of  interpreters,  with 
less  satisfactory  results,  perhaps,  than  any  other  part  of  the  whole  Tabernacle  appa- 
ratus.*  Without  entering  in  detail  into  the  hopeless  discussion  on  this  mysterious  sub- 


sponding]  rings  of  gold,  and  thoushalt  put  them  upon 
the  two  shoulders  [i.  e.  sides]  of  the  ephod,  from  as  to 
downward  [i.  e.  near  the  bottom],  from  the  frontof  its 
face  [i.  e.  on  its  very  face],  to  the  conjunctions  of  [i.  e. 
opposite]  its  joining  [by  stitches  to  the  strap],  from 
above  as  to  [i.  e.  near  the  top  of]  the  strap  of  the 
ephod." 

Ver.  28.  "  And  they  [i.  e.  the  makers  or  weavers] 
shall  tie  the  breastplate  from  [i.  e.  by]  its  [lower] 
rings  towards  [i.  e.  to]  the  rings  of  the  ephod  witli  a 
thread  of  violet  [wool],  [so  as]  to  be  upon  the  strap 
of  the  ephod:  and  the  breastplate  shall  not  be  shoved 
from  upon  the  epliod." 

*Tlie  following  is  a  condensed  summary  of  all  the 
positive  information  that  philology  and  Scripture 
afford  on  this  difficult  but  interesting  topic;  and 
neither  Josephus  nor  the  Rabbins  seem  to  have  had 
access  to  anything  further,  while  the  conjectures  of 
modern  writers  are  mostly  worse  than  worthless. 

The  words  "  the  Urim  and  the  Thummim  "  are 
not  proper  names,  the  former  being  simply  the  plural 
of  ur,  which  is  occasionally  used  in  the  sing,  for  light 
(as  is  its  congener  or  constantly)  in  the  sense  oi flame 
(Isa.  xxxi,  9;  xliv,  16.  xlvii,  14;  1,  11;  Ezek.  v,  2;  for 


it  is  merely  the  infinitive  of  the  common  verb  mean- 
ing to  shine),  and  for  Ur,  the  birthplace  of  Abraham  ; 
while  the  plural  (besides  the  distinctive  use  here  con- 
sidered, occurring  singly  in  Num.  xx%-ii,  21;  1  Sam. 
xxviii,  6 ;  and  elsewhere  in  the  compound  phrase, 
Exod.  xxviii,  30 ;  Lev.  viii,  8 ;  Dent,  xxxiii,  8 ;  Ezra 
ii,  63 :  Nell,  vii,  65)  is  used  for  the  region  of  lights, 
i.  e.  the  East  (Isa.  xxiv,  15,  A.  V.  "fires").  "Thum- 
mim "  hkewise  is  only  tlie  plur.  form  of  torn  (which  is 
itself  but  a  participial  noun  from  the  verb  tatndm, 
frequently  used  to  denote  completeness  or  sincerity), 
me&n'm'i perfection,  and  usually  rendered  (in  the  sing.) 
"  integrity  "  (Gen.  xx,  5,  6  ;  1  Kings,  ix,  4  ;  Psa.  vii,  8  ; 
XXV,  21;  xxvi,  1,  11;  xli,  12;  Ixxviii,  72;  Prov. 
xix,  1;  XX,  7),  "uprightness,"  "upright,"  or  "up- 
rightly "  (Job.  iv.  6  ;  Prov.  ii,  7  ;  x,  9,  29  ;  xiii,  6  ; 
xxviii,  6),  "  perfect "  or  "  perfection  "  (Psa.  ci,  2  ;  Isa. 
xlvii,  9),  "simplicity"  (2  Sam.  xv,  11),  "  full  "  (Job. 
xxi,  23),  "  at  a  venture  "  (1  Kings  xxii,  34 ;  2  Chron. 
xviii,  33),  but  in  the  plur.  only  in  connection  with 
Urim  (as  above).  The  plural  form  of  both  words 
does  not  necessarily  imply  that  there  were  many  of 
each  kind  of  object,  nor  even  that  the  two  were  dis- 
tinct articles;  but  rather  according  to  a  frequent  Heb. 


70 


STRUCTURE  OF  THE  TABERNACLE. 


ject,  we  may  safely  say,  in  ])rief,  that  these  terms  designate  some  means  of  oracular 
response,  on  questions  of  public  importance,  by  Jehovah  through  the  high-priest. 
The  manner  in  which  they  are  introduced  ("^Ae  Urim  and  the  Thummim,"  like  "^Ae 
Cherubim,"  on  their  first  mention),  yet  without  any  explanation,  shows  that  they 
were  well  kno%vn  already  to  the  Israelites ;  and  this  adds  force  to  the  presumption, 
confii*med  by  an  inspection  of  the  monuments,  that  they  were  the  originals  of  which 
the  symbolical  images  known  to  Egyptologists  as  those  of  the  double  goddess  of  Truth 
and  Justice,*  and  probably  also  the  idolatrous  Teraphim  of  the  early  Mesopotamians 
and  later  Syrians,  were  the  counterfeits. f  However  that  may  be,  we  find  this  mode 
of  divination,  if  so  we  may  respectfully  designate  it,  in  use  among  the  Hebrews  from 
this  time  forward,  as  it  appears  to  have  been  in  the  patriarchal  days  (Gen.  xxv,  22,  23), 
down  to  a  late  period  of  the  Jewish  commonwealth,  when  it  suddenly  and  silently 
disappears  altogether  from  history ;  doubtless  because  superseded  by  the  clearer  and 
fuller  Lights  and  Perfections  of  personally  inspired  prophets,  whose  oral  deliver- 
ances, afterwards  compiled  by  themselves  in  permanent  documents,  have  survived  the 
vicissitudes  of  transcription  and  denationalization,  and  still  guide  and  cheer  the  saints 
on  their  march  to  the  heavenly  home. 


idiom,  these  peculiarities  of  the  phrase  express  as  fol- 
lows :  the  plur.,  emphasis  or  quantity ;  and  the  duplica- 
tion, attribution  or  quality ;  so  that  a  free  translation 
would  he  full  light  as  to  amount  and  perfect  as  to  kind, 
i.  e.  complete  illumination  ;  in  modern  terminology,  a 
definite  oracle,  in  distinction  from  the  vague  and  am- 
biguous intimations  from  other  sources,  whether 
heathen  shrines,  providential  auguries,  or  even  in- 
spired vaticinations,  such  as  had  been  the  only  re- 
source of  previous  ages  and  other  nations. 

As  to  the  actual  application  of  this  instrumentality 
for  predicting  events,  we  find  various  significant  facts. 
The  object  in  question  was  small,  light  and  non-fragile 
(so  as  to  be  easily  carried  in  tlie  pouch  of  the  breast- 
plate). It  (or  its  equivalent)  was  duplicated  freely 
in  the  pontifical  family  (1  Sam.  xxii,  18),  but  the  act- 
ing high-priest  alone  had  the  prerogative  of  consulting 
it  (1  Sam  xxiii,  2,  4,  6),  and  the  secret  of  using  it 
was  at  length  lost  even  to  the  hierarchy  (Ezra  ii,  63). 
Tiie  questions  put  by  its  means  were  categorical,  and 
the  answers  were  equally  explicit,  although  not 
always  a  simple  affirmative  or  negative  (I  Sam.  xxiii, 
9-12;  2  Sam.  v,  23,  24);  and  sometimes  refused 
altogether  (1  S.im.  xxviii,  6).  All  tliis  implies  a  material 
apparatus,  a  puljlic  constiltation,  and  a  palpable  re- 
ply, either  bj*  visible  or  audible  signs ;  and  excludes 
all  theories  of  priestcraft,  fortune-telling  or  legerde- 
main, making  the  whole  a'hona-fide  supernatural  in- 
dication of  what  no  mortal  could  of  himself  discover 
or  predict.  Beyond  this  everything  concerning  it  is 
uncertain,  and  the  speculations  of  scholars  are 
scarcely  worth  recounting. 


*  See  Wilkinson,  Anc.  Egyptians,  ii,  27;  v.  23 
large  edition. 

\  We  hazard  the  opinion  that  this  species  of  augury 
was  by  means  of  an  image  (probably  of  clay  rudely 
modelled)  representing  truth  as  the  essential  attribute 
of  deity.  It  was  worn  in  the  bosom,  whicli  is  the  Ori- 
ental pocket,  so  as  to  be  always  at  hand  and  familiar 
Like  the  cherubim,  its  purely  ideal  character  relieved  it- 
of  the  charge  of  idolatry.  The  only  clue  to  its  mode  of 
manipulation  for  otaining  an  oracular  response  is 
afforded  by  1  Sam.  xiv,  19  (for  the  ephod  and  not  the 
ark  must  be  there  referred  to ;  comp.  ver.  3,  and  see 
Keil  on  the  passage),  where  the  expression  "  with- 
draw [literally  '■^  gather  up  "]  thy  hand"  shows  that  it 
was  held  in  the  open  hand  during  consultation.  It  does 
not  seem,  however,  to  have  been  absolutely  necessary 
in  the  process  at  all,  for  on  several  occasions  no  men- 
tion of  it  whatever  is  made  (1  Sam.  xxiii,  2,  4 ;  2  Sam. 
V.  19,  23;  xxi,  1),  and  in  one  instance  at  least  it  was 
impliedly  absent,  the  priestly  vestment  itself  being  only 
an  ordinary  one  of  simple  linen,  such  as  appears  to  have 
been  worn  by  tlie  whole  lineage  of  the  high-priest  (1 
Sam.  xxiii,  6;  comp.  xxii,  18).  This  lends  color  to  the 
suspicion  that  the  response  was  not  given  by  any  pecul- 
iarity of  the  object  in  question  itself;  but  was  merely  di- 
vined through  some  professional  skill  acquired  by  (per- 
haps rather  was  a  specially  inspired  intimation  vouch- 
s-ifed  to)  the  officiator  (comp.  John  xi,  51).  Finally, 
inasmuch  as  in  several  of  tlie  above  cases  even  the 
priestly  intervention  is  not  positively  stated,  it  may  be 
that  the  king  or  any  other  public  functionary  was 
qualified  to  ascertain  the  divine  will  by  tliis  ineaas. 


CHAPTER    V. 

SYMBOLISM     OF    THE    TABERNACLE. 

"We  approach  this  enticing  brancli  of  our  treatise  with  iimcli  caution,  and  only 
after  we  have  prepared  the  way  for  it  by  a  careful  analysis  of  the  facts  and  elements 
upon  which  a  figurative  application  of  the  whole  or  any  of  its  correlated  parts  should 
rest.  We  are  moreover  warned,  by  the  extravagant  and  unseemly  mystifications  of 
most  predecessors  in  this  attempt,  how  liable  a  fertile  fancy  is  to  mislead  even  a  well- 
stored  head  and  a  well-disposed  heart  in  a  field  where  so  little  is  fixed  by  determi- 
native bounds,  whether  historical,  logical,  philosophical  or  artistic*     Tlie  only  safe 


*  Much  that  has  been  given  by  former  writers  as 
symbol  on  this  subject  is  merely  metaphor  or  figure  of 
speech  instead  of  representation  by  object.  The  sym- 
bolism of  the  Tabernacle,  as  developed  briefly  by 
Josephus  and  Philo,  is  purely  cosmical;  and  in  this 
tltey  are  followed  more  at  length  by  Bahr.  The 
jcjurieness  and  frigidity  of  such  an  exposition  are 
sufficiently  obvious.  Later  expositors  have  usually 
vibrated  between  this  and  the  merely  clerical  idea  of 
the  Tabernacle  symbolism,  or  else  they  have  gone  off 
on  some  tangential  line  suggested  by  their  own  subject- 
ive proclivities.  Such  whims  can  neither  be  proved 
nor  disproved;  the  competent  objection  to  them  is 
their  inadequacy  and  their  triviality.  They  mistake 
accidental  and  partial  coincidence  for  designed  and 
sustained  correspondence.  Scriptural  typology  must 
be  deduced  by  rigid  exegesis  and  a  broad  view  of  the 
divine  economy,  especially  in  its  soteriological  rela- 
tions. This  is  the  core  of  revelation.  The  legitimate 
tests  of  the  symbolism  of  the  Tabernacle,  as  of  that  of 
any  Jewish  or  Christian  institution,  are  natural  congru- 
ity,  spiritual  suggestiveness,  and  biblical  sanction.  It 
is  not  enough  to  cover  the  requirements  of  a  per- 
functory ritualism,  a  stolid  ecclesiasticism,  or  a  con- 
ventional nationalism,  much  less  to  satisfy  the  most 
obvious  demands  of  an  outward  naturalism ;  the  deep 
value  of  a  universal,  sempiternal  and  soul-saving  im- 
port must  be  reached.  The  Tabernacle  was  the  vis- 
ible hearth-stone  of  the  invisible  Church,  then  first 
laid  in  a  fixed  though  still  (as  ever  on  earth)  migratory 
habitation;  it  was  the  type  of  that  "house  of  God" 
which  was  designed  to  embrace  the  globe,  to  be  the 
germ  of  heaven,  and  yet  to  domicile  in  the  humblest 
heart.       Its  archetype,  modelled  in  the  conclave  of 


the  eternal  Trinity,  and  for  a  brief  season  disclosed  to 
Moses,  still  remains  in  the  celestial  sphere,  to  bo  un- 
vailed  at  length  to  the  full  satisfaction  of  all  tiie 
saints.  There  we  shall  forever  admire  the  perfection 
of  the  symbol. 

We  here  rehearse,  somewhat  in  detail,  a  few  of  the 
most  plausible  of  these  schemes  of  symbolism,  in  order 
that  the  reader  may  see  for  himself  how  arbitrary,  in- 
coherent and  futile  they  really  are.  The  oldest  ex- 
positions of  this  branch  of  our  subject  are  by  the  two 
learned  Jews  so  often  alluded  to  already  by  us.  As 
interpreted  by  Flavius  Josephus  {Antiquities,  III,  vii, 
7),  the  holy  of  holies  represents  heaven,  the  holy  place 
and  the  outer  court  the  sea  and  the  land;  the  twelve 
loaves  on  the  table  of  show-bread  denote  the  montiis 
of  the  year;  the  seventy  parts  of  llie  candelabrum  are 
tl;e  divisions  of  the  planets,  and  the  seven  burners 
the  planets  themselves;  the  four  components  of  tlie 
vail  signify  the  natural  elements,  the  linen  being  the 
earth,  the  purple  the  sea,  the  blue  the  air,  and  llie 
scarlet  the  fire;  the  pomegranates  on  the  high-priest's 
robe  mean  lightning,  and  the  bells  thunder  (!) ;  the 
breastplate  is  the  earth,  because  central  in  the  uni- 
verse ;  the  girdle  is  the  ocean,  because  encircling  the 
world ;  the  shoulder  studs  are  the  sun  and  the  moon ; 
the  twelve  gems  are  tlie  signs  of  the  zodiac.  The  no- 
tions of  Philo  Judseus  {Life  of  Moses,  iii,  4-15)  arc 
very  similar,  but  more  elaborate  and  sometimes  intri- 
cate or  even  confused  and  erroneous:  the  five  front 
pillars  are  the  number  of  the  external  senses,  and  the 
gold  [inside]  is  the  mind  itself;  the  numbers  4  and  28 
of  tlie  colored  curtains  are  peifect  parts  of  the 
decade  (V),  and  40,  as  a  prolific  number  (?),  symbolizes 
man  as  fasiiioned  in  the  workmanship  of  nature;  the 


72 


SYMBOLISM  OF   THE   TABEliNACLE. 


guide,  in  our  judgment,  is  direct  Scriptural  warrant  for  the  aesthetic  analogies  and 
spiritual  adumbrations  which  this  elaborate  and  (for  the  times)  elegant  structure  must 


materials  of  llie  curtaias  represent  the  elements,  linen 
coming;  from  the  earth,  purple  from  the  water,  hya- 
cinth being  the  color  of  the  air,  and  scarlet  that  of 
fire  ;  the  ark  is  an  emblem  of  the  merciful  power  of 
God,  the  two  cherubim  representing  respectively  his 
kingly  and  his  creative  cliaracter;  the  altar  of  incense 
is  a  symbol  of  gratitude  (without  which  even  tlie 
sacrifices  on  the  outer  altar  are  unavailing — a  beauti- 
ful idea);  the  candelabrum  is  placed  on  the  south  side 
like  the  celestial  luminaries,  and  the  lamps  are  the 
seven  planets;  the  table  of  show- bread,  on  the  north 
side,  like  the  most  productive  winds  from  that  quar- 
ter (?).  represents  the  fruits  of  the  earth ;  the  four- 
lettered  name  on  the  high-priest's  frontlet  conveys 
various  meanings  depending  upon  that  number;  and 
so  on  at  a  considerable  length.  The  ejirly  Church 
fathers  largely  adopted  the  sanoe  cosmical  explanation 
of  the  Tabernacle.  Among  medijieval  writers,  when 
orthodox  and  even  pietistic,  the  symbolism  of  the 
subject  is  exceedingly  vague.  The  venerable  Bfde, 
in  his  treatise  De  Tabernaculo,  etc.  (inserted  at  the  end 
of  his  commentary  on  the  Pentateuch,  in  Migne's 
Patrologia  Latina,  xci,  394-498),  makes  every  thing 
emblematical  of  Christ,  his  Church  and  his  saints: 
the  Ark  is  his  Incarnation,  its  wood  a  type  of  his  im- 
maculate body,  its  length  of  his  patience,  its  breadth 
of  his  charity,  its  height  of  the  future  glorification, 
the  whole  cubit  being  that  of  himself,  and  the  half 
that  of  his  followers,  etc.  (i,  4) ;  the  cherubim  are  a 
name  for  the  angelic  virtues,  their  wings  denoting  the 
velocity  of  the  resurrection  body,  stretching  in  pro- 
tection over  the  mercy-seat,  their  number  correspond- 
ing to  the  two  Testaments,  etc.  (i,  5);  the  curtains  of 
dififereut  colors  represent  the  various  gifts  of  the 
Spirit,  the  white  linen  corresponding  to  the  beauty  of 
justification,  the  blue  to  the  celestial  temper  of  the 
saints,  the  purple  to  the  blood  of  entire  devotion,  and 
the  scarlet  to  the  fire  of  perfect  love,  etc.  (ii,  2);  and 
so  on  .through  a  prolix  series  of  mystical  interpreta- 
tions, generally  fortified  by  fanciful  quotations  from 
the  Latin  Vulgate.  Herman  Witsius  devoted  a  learned 
and  acute  treatise  {De  Tabernaculi  Levitici  Mysteriis,  in 
Vol.  I  of  \\\s  Miscellanea  Sacra,  Leyden,  1736,  pp.  318- 
3ti3)  to  the  consideration  of  the  structure  and  import 
of  the  Tabernacle,  but  he  has  advanced  little  on  the 
latter  point  beyond  the  obvious  practical  and  religious 
lessons  of  the  subject,  and  the  general  Messianic  bear- 
ing of  the  component  parts  of  the  edifice  and  its  ap- 
purtenances, expressly  declining  (§  ii  )  to  enter  further 
into  the  symbolism,     Bahr  (in  his  Syvibolik  des  Mus. 


CuUus,  noticed  in  chap,  ii  above)  discusses  at  large 
the  cosmical  significance  of  the  numbers  that  enter 
into  the  dimensions  and  divisions  of  the  building,  and 
briefiy  the  ethical  and  liturgical  relations  of  the  vari- 
ous elements  and  pieces  of  apparatus;  but  he  verj- 
scantily  shows  their  harmonious  adaptation  to  eacli 
other  in  a  moral  point  of  view,  and  he  scarcely  alludes 
to  their  interior  Christian  significance.  (In  his  later 
work  on  the  Temple  he  retracted  much  of  this  cos- 
mical idea,  and  made  the  Tabernacle  the  centre  of  the 
national  scheme  of  Judaism.)  The  volume  of  Fried- 
erich  (Symbolik  der  Mos.  Stiftshiitte,  likewise  noticed 
above)  goes  to  the  other  extreme,  and  in  the  effort  to 
apply  the  similitude  to  the  human  body  as  a  residence 
of  the  divine  Spirit,  runs  into  disgusting  particulars. 
One  of  the  most  recent  works  that  venture  in  detail 
into  this  part  of  the  field  (Atwater's,  noticed  in  chap, 
ii  above),  while  justly  criticising  (pp.  156-161)  the 
excessive  Christology  of  one  of  the  early  Protestant 
discussions  of  the  Tabernacle  in  its  minutiae  (J. 
Lund,  Jiidische  Heiligthiiiner,  ed.  by  his  son,  Ham 
burg,  1695,  Svo ;  and  later),  and  afterwards  consun> 
ing  five  chapters  in  a  general  survey  of  the  symbol- 
ism of  numbers,  forms,  colors,  substances  and 
animals,  chiefiy  in  heathen  usages  (which  are  little  to 
the  point  here),  yet  at  last  itself,  beyond  some  of  the 
most  obvious  needs  and  bearings  of  the  edifice,  its 
furniture  and  its  vestments,  points  out  only  certain 
sporadic  and  superficial  resemblances  and  analogies, 
some  of  which  are  based  upon  merely  metaphorical 
expressions,  while  others,  however  ingenious,  are  of 
doubtful  pertinence  or  authority:  for  example,  to 
take  the  specifications  first  in  order  (p.  270  and 
following),  under  the  heads  of  form  and  number; 
that  the  Outer  Court  symbolizes  the  Old  Covenant, 
the  Holy  Place  the  New  Covenant,  and  the  Most 
Holy  the  beatified  state,  the  last  alone  being  a  per- 
fect cube;  that  tlie  48  planks  of  the  walls  arc  an 
emblem  of  the  product  of  the  12  tribes  or  apostles 
and  "  that  number  [4]  which  stands  for  the  kingdom 
of  God "  [?],  whereas  "the  dimensions  of  the  cur- 
tains were  not  significant"  (the  next  illustrations  [p. 
280-285],  as  we  have  shown,  are  based  upon  an 
erroneous  or  defective  interpretation);  and  so  through 
the  subsequent  heads.  The  very  latest  publication 
on  the  subject  (Randall's,  noticed  above  in  chap,  ii), 
after  reviewing  at  some  length  the  conflicting  views 
of  writers  on  the  symbolism  especially  of  the  cher- 
ubim (ch.  XXV,  xxvi),  adopts  (p.  :>24)  the  explanation, 
that  they   "  are  to    be   regarded   as   symbols   ot,  tiie 


THE  DIVINE  ABODE. 


73 


have  been  intended  to  body  forth  ;  and  this  exposition  of  the  true  aim  and  inner 
moral  of  such  a  picture-lesson  to  the  comparatively  infantile  mind  of  the  Israelites 
must  be  sought  either  in  the  explicit  statements  of  the  sacred  text  (whether  of  the  Old 
or  the  New  Testament),  or  else  in  the  inferences  naturally  groM'ing  out  of  them,  and 
requisite  in  order  to  maintain  their  coherence  and  symmetry.  We  therefore  propose, 
not  summarily  to  reject,  nor  yet  polemically  to  dissect  the  occult  and  often  micro- 
scoi3ic  resemblances  which  most  M'riters  on  the  subject  have  debated  or  fancied  in 
these  gorgeous  emblems,  ranging  through  earth,  air,  sea  and  sky ;  but  to  compare, 
combine  and  deduce,  almost  ds  fiovo,  what  strikes  us  as  a  self-disclosed  and  tangible 
system  of  religious  truth  modelled  into  the  coincidences  and  varieties  of  this  remark- 
able piece  of  handicraft.  We  shall  find  that  its  doctrine,  no  less  than  its  composition, 
is  organic  and  harmonic,  especially  in  its  most  peculiar  features. 

In  a  general  way,  we  may  remark,  as  a  preliminary  thought,  that  the  Taber- 
nacle, as  a  whole,  being  in  fact  but  a  tefit,  is  occasionally  referred  to  in  Scripture  as  a 
type  of  a  transient  sojourn.  Such  it  was  among  the  nomadic  Israelites  in  the  Desert, 
while  on  their  journey  to  Canaan,  -which  was  a  symbol  of  the  passage  of  saints  through 
the  stage  of  mortal  probation  to  their  heavenly  home  ;  and  such  it  was  to  Jehovah, 
prior  to  his  more  permanent  residence  in  the  stone  structure  of  the  Temple  on  the 
permanent  site  of  Jerusalem.  In  a  more  special  sense  it  may  perhaps  have  prefigured 
the  occupancy  of  a  human  body  by  the  Messiah  during  his  stay  on  earth  (John  i,  14, 
render  "  tabernacled  "  instead  of  "  dwelt ;  "  and  compare  Peter's  language,  Matt, 
xvii,  4) ;  and  it  is  an  apt  figure  of  the  frail  abode  of  every  one  of  his  followers  on 
earth  (2  Pet.  i,  13,  14). 

I.  The  first  thing  that  occurs  at  the  very  threshold  of  our  attempts  at  recon- 


glorious  qualities  or  attributes  of  the  Saviour  in 
carrying  on  the  great  work  of  our  redemption,  and  of 
the  attributes  or  qualities  [which]  his  ransomed  peo- 
ple will  share  with  him  in  the  glory  of  liis  heavenly 
kingdom."  This  compound  statement  lie  professes  to 
derive  from  Atwater,  whose  language,  however,  is 
more  simple  (p.  262),  that  tliey  "  represented  human- 
ity raised  from  its  death  in  Adam  to  fulness  of  life 
in  Christ:" — a  lame  and  impotent  conclusion,  as  it 
seems  to  us,  for  the  mystical  import  of  a  pure  ideal- 
ism so  centrally  enthroned  in  the  penetralia  of  the 
sacred  building ;  and  all  deduced  from  the  bare  use 
of  the  term  "  living  creatures "  applied  to  these 
impersonations  in  Ezekiel  and  the  Revelation. 
Think  of  Jesus  and  his  saints  finally  embodied  in  these 
weird  forms!  Among  recent  commentators  of  note, 
Zaliseh  (On  Exodics,  p.  491-499)  rehearses  and  criti- 
cises very  fairly  the  various  schemes  of  symbolism, 
ancient  and  modern,  especially  tliat  of  Bahr,  and  him- 
self proposes  (p.  494)  a  few  points  on  the  principal 
features  of  the  Tabernacle  which  might  apply  with 
nearly  equal  propriety  to  any  ethnic  .system  contain- 
ing the  same  elements.     Keil  {On  the  Pentateuch,  ii, 


182-185,  Clark's  translation)  gives  in  the  main  a  sen- 
sible scheme,  but  very  general  and  defective  on  sev- 
eral items:  the  building  embodies  the  kingdom  of 
God,  as  then  confined  within  lime  and  space;  facing 
the  four  points  of  the  compass,  its  quadrangular  form 
was  a  type  of  the  world  as  the  scene  of  divine  revela- 
tion, the  square,  and  especially  the  cube,  being  reserved 
for  the  most  interior  perfection;  the  gold  denoted 
god-like  splendor,  the  silver  moral  puritj^,  the  white 
("  invariably  named  first  [?]  among  the  colors  ")  repre- 
sented holiness,  the  hyacinth  heavenly  origin  and 
character,  the  purple  royal  glory,  the  crimson  imper- 
ishable life,  and  the  cherubim  the  kingdom  of  glory  (!). 
Very  much  in  like  style  are  the  schemes  of  Lange 
(On  Ezod.,  p.  11.3-128.  Schaflf's  ed.),  briefly  the  Bible 
Commentary  (i,  357-393,  Am.  ed.).  more  copiously 
the  Pulpit  Commentary  (Exod.  vol.  ii).  The  great 
fault  of  even  the  best  of  these  schemes  is  their  in- 
definiteness  and  lack  of  application  to  particulars,  as 
well  as  their  leaning  too  exclusively  upon  later  adnp- 
tations  (rather  than  interpretations)  of  similar  emblems 
in  the  N.-T.  writings,  thus  arriving  at  a  superficial 
explanation. 


74 


SYMBOLISM  OB'   THE   TABERNACLE. 


struction  or  survey  is  the  principle  of  thorough  proportion  tliat  reigns  throngliout  tlie 
mechanical  execution  of  the  Tabernacle,  extending  to  the  smallest  and  most  secret 
parts.*  This  appears  on  the  face  of  the  plan  and  its  accompaniments  in  the  numbers 
and  sizes  given  by  the  architects.  We  will  take  these  in  their  arithmetical  order, 
gradually  contracting  to  the  central  identity.  They  all  have  a  natural,  rather  than  a 
metaphysical  basis. 

1.  The  simplest  and  earliest,  as  well  as  the  most  scientific  and  perfect  mode  of 
enumeration  is  the  decimal  one,  which  in  modern  metrology  threatens  to  supersede  all 
others  in  exact  or  even  popular  specification.  The  ten  fingers  evidently  suggested 
the  digits  (their  namesake),  and  men  spontaneously  count  by  their  means.  In  the 
Tabernacle  all  the  ground-plans  and  elevations  proceed  by  tens  (or  a  multiple  or  in- 
tegral part  of  ten) ;  and  wherever  this  is  practicable,  it  is  maintained  in  the  subdivis- 
ions of  space  and  material.     This  is  too  obvious  to  need  illustration. 

The  practical  lesson  from  this  basal  distribution  seems  to  us  to  be,  that  the  entire 
edifice,  with  its  court,  its  rooms,  its  walls,  its  pillars,  its  curtains  and  its  fastenings, 
was  meant  to  be  a  thing  of  convenience  as  well  as  of  regularity  ;  and  that  its  economy, 
both  in  construction  and  in  use,  was  to  be  a  mathematical  teacher  to  the  unschooled 
but  acute  genius  of  the  chosen  people.  Even  to  our  own  day,  the  lesson,  that  "order 
is  heaven's  first  law,"  and  that  the  most  perfect  conventional  exponent  in  numerical 
proportion  is  essential  for  the  purpose  of  expressing  and  maintaining  this  order,  is  by 
no  means  superfluous  ;  indeed  it  is  growingly  appreciated  and  inculcated. 

It  is  true,  the  duodecimal  system,  as  in  the  multiplication  table,  is  occasionally 
employed  in  the  Tabernacle,  suggested  perhaps  at  first  by  the  months  of  the  year 
(although  this  is  not  strictly  true  of  the  Jewish  calendar,  and  is  itself  but  an  artificial 
basis  for  calculation),  and  in  the  present  case  emphasized  by  the  number  of  the  sons 
and  tribes  of  Israel ;  but  this  is  carried  no  further  than  those  few  particulars  that  di- 
rectly memorialize  the  ancestral  and  territorial  sections  of  the  nation,  and  have  no 
essential  root  in  the  great  features  of  the  Tabernacle  and  its  cultus. 

2.  The  next  primary  f  number,  namely,  the  septenary,  that  runs  throughout  the 
dimensions,  but  less  conspicuously,  was  obviously  drawn  from  the  days  of  the  week,  an 
Edenic  distribution,  for  reasons  which  the  most  exact  experience  of  modern  times  has 


♦Proportion  is  the  p:rand  principle  that  combines 
unity  with  variety,  holding  the  universe  together, 
and  rendering  man  a  miniature  of  Deity.  It  is  the 
liarmony  of  the  spheres  and  the  symmetry  of  tile 
atom.  It  is  the  algebra  of  beauty  and  the  mechanics 
of  morals.  It  is  the  prime  quality  of  object-teaching, 
from  the  horn-book  to  the  calculus ;  and  very  prop- 
erly does  it  stand  prominent  in  the  frontispiece  of 
the  picture-lessons  of  the  Tabernacle.  It  is  the 
grovuid  idea  of  the  whole  structure.  For  the  Archi- 
tect of  Nature  works  always  by  rule,  and  the  pro- 
ducts of  his  recreation  are  destined  eventually  to 
e.xhibit  no  less  perfection.  They  are  to  be  copies  on 
a  smaller  scale  of  his  infinite  proportions. 


f  We  observe  here  incidentally  but  significantly, 
that  tiie  three  primary  (and  in  Heb.  nomenclature 
the  "sacred  ")  numbers  7,  3  and  1,  which  (like  the 
prismatic  colors,  blue,  red  and  yellow,)  make  up  the 
others,  are  all  odd,  nnd  hence  indivisible  without 
fractions.  The  first  two  yield  by  addition  the  roiuid 
10,  the  second  by  successive  self-multiplications  that 
most  peculiar  of  all  squares  9  (the  magic  sum  of  all 
the  other  digits  ranged  around  the  central  5,  and  the 
instant  dissolvent  of  all  other  products),  while  the 
unit,  perfect  in  itself,  neither  increases  nor  dimiiiislies 
the  others  by  proportion.  Tlie  complicated  relations 
of  involution  and  evolution  of  course  are  foreign  to  so 
primitive  an  arithmetic. 


NUMERICAL   SIGNIFICANCE. 


75 


vindicated  as  necessary  for  the  liunian  economy,  both  in  the  individual  and  in  sociuty. 
It  comes  in  most  opportunely  to  resolve  the  singular  variation  in  the  length  of  tlie  in- 
side curtains  as  compared  with  the  roof-canvas  (7x4=  28),  and  especially  as  a  basis 
of  the  two  factors  4  and  3,  wliich  enter  so  largely  into  the  other  dimensions ;  and  may 
have  been  intended  to  serve  as  a  reminder  of  the  Sabbath  as  well  as  of  the  sacredness 
of  an  oath  (Ileb.  a  sevening). 

3.  The  quadruple  distribution,  as  just  observed,  prevails  in  the  square  hori- 
zontal forms  generally  adopted  in  the  Tabernacle,  as  well  as  in  many  of  the 
upright  ones  (the  number  of  the  door-way  posts  for  example,  and  the  rings  at  the 
corners  of  the  pieces  of  furniture) ;  and  has  its  own  distinctive  lesson  (as  we  will 
presently  see). 

4.  The  triple  arrangement,  as  the  remainder  of  seven,  has  a  very  marked  position 
as  a  factor  in  the  Tabernacle  economy  (as  already  noticed),  and  although  we  think  the 
allusion  to  the  persons  of  the  Deity  here  as  premature  as  would  be  a  reference  to  the 
mathematical  proportions  of  the  triangle,  yet  the  tripartite  division  of  the  terrestrial 
universe  (earth,  air  and  sky ;  or  more  accurately  land,  sea  and  atmosphere),  as  well  as 
of  its  associated  elements  (water,  fire  and  air),  or  even  of  its  great  kingdoms  (animal, 
vegetable  and  mineral),  and  the  forms  of  life  (beasts,  birds  and  fishes),  including  the 
constituents  of  man  himself  (popularly  called  body,  soul  and  spirit),  cannot  have  been 
altogether  accidental  correspondences  to  this  architectural  fact,  any  more  than  they 
are  to  the  aphorism  that  almost  everything  may  be  as  readily  (and,  usually,  more  log- 
ically) divided  into  threes  as  into  halves, 

5.  The  duplicate  division,  too  obvious  in  the  Tabernacle  to  need  specification,  is 
based  upon  the  sexual  distinction,  no  less  than  the  grand  distribution  of  "  the  earth 
and  the  heavens,"  the  former  again  being  divisible  in  the  land  and  water.  Its 
great  lesson  is  the  dualism  that  pervades  not  only  nature  (chiefly  as  opposites, 
e.  g.  heat  and  cold,  liglit  and  darkness,  but  sometimes  as  allies,  e.  g.  food  and  drink, 
light  and  heat),  but  still  more  significantly  the  moral  realm  (virtue  and  vice,  God  and 
Satan). 

6.  Finally  the  single  object,  as  the  germ  of  all,  most  strikingly  suggests  the  unity 
of  all  things,  especially  in  God  the  universal  Maker,  Preserver  and  Judge,  and  (most 
relevantly  to  this  connection)  the  only  being  entitled  to  adoration  in  any  realm  of 
existence  (lieaven,  earth  or  hell). 

The  cubit  itself,  which,  as  M-e  have  seen,  is  constantly  the  unit  of  measure 
throughout  tlie  Tabernacle  and  its  appurtenances,  is  a  natural  standard,  being  the  nor- 
mal length  of  the  fore-arm,  or  the  distance  from  the  elbow' to  the  wrist  in  a  full-sized 
man  (Dent,  iii,  11) ;  and  in  the  figurative  idiom  of  the  Hebrew  its  name  is  character- 
istically ammdh,  which  is  merely  a  variation  *  of  the  word  an,  a  mother,  not  so  much 
(as  the  lexicons  explain  f)  "  because  the  fore-arm  is  the  mother  of  tlie  (entire)  arm  " 


*  It  is  in  fact  the  fcra.  form,  for  em  (a  "mother" 
in  tlie  lit.  sense),  being  a  primitive  word,  actually  has 
the  masc.  or  root  form. 

f  Gesenius  expressly  says,  "mother  of  the  arm," 


citing  Deut.  iii,  11,  as  authority;  and  Fiirst  sub- 
stantially does  the  same,  giving  the  word  the  original 
sense  of  "  elbow-joint,  then  an)!,  and  lastly  more 
spocially  the  /ore  or  lotuer  arm." 


76 


SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  TABEBNACLE. 


(a  metaphor  not  very  obvious  surely),  but  because  the  cubit  (or  ulna)  is  the  "  mother  '* 
(as  it  were)  of  all  dimensions  (whether  in  the  human  body*  or  elsewhere). 

It  deserves  notice  that  no  irregular  multiples  or  fractions  are  employed  in  the 
measurements  of  the  Tabernacle,  nor  (with  the  exception  of  the  dimensions  of  the 
Table  of  Show-bread  and  of  the  Ark,  which  are  a  regular  aliquot  part,  namely  the 
half,  of  5  and  3  respectively),  is  any  mixed  number,  consisting  of  a  whole  number 
and  a  fraction,  either  expressed  or  implied. f 

II,  As  the  next  element  of  symbolism  we  place  color,  for  that  is  truly  the  basis 
of  form,  since  the  shape  of  objects  is  really  determined  (ocularly)  by  the  variations  of 
color  or  the  degrees  of  shading  at  the  edges ;  and  the  outlines  differ  according  to  the 
point  of  view  or  the  aspect,  while  the  color,  at  however  great  distances  (if  the  object 
be  distinctively  visible),  remains  constantly  the  same.  Indeed  without  color,  which 
is  but  a  variation  of  light,  any  object  is  altogether  invisible.  We  should  note  that  all 
the  colors  of  the  Tabernacle  were  what  are  called  "fast,"  i.  e.  permanent,  or  not  liable 
to  fade ;  hence  none  of  them  are  drawn  from  the  vegetable  kingdom,  nor  used  in 
dyeing  vegetable  materials.:}: 


*  111  like  manner  tailors  and  mantua-makers  fre- 
quently reckon  the  proportions  of  a  garment  by  the 
length  of  a  finger,  or  the  size  of  the  chest;  and  glove- 
fitters  by  the  diameter  of  the  hand  or  even  of  tlie 
wrist.  In  fine  we  may  compare  the  kindred  standards 
of  a  palm,  a  finger-breadlh,  etc. 

fin  the  number  12  the  essential  symbolism  is  to  be 
sought,  not  in  the  months  of  the  year  (which  among 
the  Hebrews,  being  lunar,  were  often  13),  much  less 
in  the  signs  of  the  zodiac  (which  are  an  astronomical 
refinement),  but  in  the  product  of  the  only  two  sub- 
divisions possible  of  the  number  7  ;  for  the  "  dozen  " 
is  a  modern  unit  aritlimetically,  and  even  in  the  mul- 
tiplication table  the  decimal  limit  would  have  been 
more  natural,  and  probably  more  convenient.  This 
number  accordingly  is  only  employed  in  Scripture 
conventionally,  and  derives  its  whole  significance  from 
that  of  the  tribes  of  Israel,  whence  it  was  transferred 
to  the  apostles  as  representatives  of  the  Christian 
Church.  It  is  therefore  purely  national  and  ecclesias- 
tical. 

In  like  manner  the  number  7,  while  having  no 
strictly  natural  type,  was  formally  adopted  as  the 
sacred  number  from  the  institution  of  the  Sabbath  as 
a  holy  season,  and  accordingly  it  enters  conspicuously 
into  the  symbolism  of  the  Tabernacle  as  an  element  of 
dimension  in  the  enigmatic  curtains  only,  and  in  tlie 
deeply  significant  lamps  of  the  candelabrum. 

So  again  the  numbers  3  and  4,  components  of  7  and 
12  by  addition  and  multiplication  respectively,  are 
not  derived  from  any  such  abstract  notions  as  (for  the 
former)  tlie  three  divisions  of  the  universe  (air,  earth 
and  sea),   dimensions  of  space  (length,  breadth   and 


thickness),  or  the  Trinity,  nor  (for  the  latter)  the  four 
points  of  the  compass,  etc. ;  but  are  rather  the  basis 
of  the  onlj'  two  perfect  forms  (besides  the  circle, 
which  is  the  type  of  unity),  namely  the  square  and 
the  triangle,  of  which  we  treat  elsewhere.  Accord- 
ingly, they  also  appear  only  in  the  utilitarian  details 
of  the  Tabernacle,  unless  we  except  the  tripartite  or 
quadruple  colors  (strictly  quintuple)  of  the  sacred 
textures. 

I  If  it  be  true  that  "order  is  Heaven's  first  law,"  it 
is  equally  true  that  proportion  is  Order's  first  law,  and 
that  number  is  the  basis  of  proportion.  Form  or  fig- 
ure is  ultimately  resolvable  into  the  three  consliiuenls 
of  the  number,  relative  dimensions  and  proportion  of 
the  parts,  the  latter  two  of  which  are  also  expressible 
only  in  numbers;  and  all  these  are  in  the  department 
of  mathematics,  which  applies  two  of  the  senses, 
touch  and  sight,  to  the  mutual  corroboration  of  abso- 
lute truth.  Color,  on  the  other  hand,  is  an  indepen- 
dent quality,  recognisable  only  by  the  latter  of  these 
senses,  and  residing  wholly  in  the  surface  of  objects, 
which  likewise  is  the  field  of  the  former  sense,  while 
their  substance  is  comprehended  under  form  and 
number.  It  is  certain,  however,  that  color  itself  is 
produced  by  the  shape  of  the  exterior  particles  of  the 
matter  of  bodies,  for  it  is  refracted,  ditfracted  and 
reflected  according  to  this,  and  the  hue  of  substances 
ma}'  be  changed  by  merely  polisliing  or  powdering 
them,  the  superficial  atoms  acting  as  minute  prisms 
in  resolving  the  rays.  Color,  therefore,  is  a  purely 
accidental  or  artificial  quality  of  the  outside,  while 
those  attributes  that  have  been  hitherto  considered 
are  native  and  inherent  to  the  essence  of  the  matter. 


BLACK  AND    WHITE. 


77 


1.  We  begin  therefore  with  black,  which  is,  strictly  speaking,  the  absence  of 
jmU  color,  and  therefore  the  emblem  of  secrecy,  mourning,  etc.,  as  darkness 
"is    of    death,    sin,    etc.       In    the    Tabernacle,    accordingly,    where    cheerfulness 

is  the  prevailing  idea  (for  the  worship  of  Jehovah,  however  awful,  is  not 
to  be  regarded  in  a  forbidding  aspect),  there  is  but  little  occasion  for  using 
this  color  (popularly  so  called);  and  even  then  it  is  in  a  softened  phase,  namely, 
the  dusky  goats'-hair  canvas.  Here  it  is  taken  in  the  amiable  or  benign  symbolism 
of  protection  or  privacy,  as  the  roof  covers  and  screens  the  dwellers  from  exposure  to 
the  sun  and  the  rain,  and  also  from  the  public  gaze  or  intrusion.  For  a  similar  reason 
there  was  no  artificial  light  in  the  Most  Holy  Place,  as  this  was  the  secret  chamber  of 
Jehovah,  illuminated  regularly  by  his  own  sun  alone,  and  occasionally  by  his  specially 
revealed  Shekinah.  Thus  he  "  in  whom  (intrinsically)  there  is  no  darkness  at  all  " 
(1  John  i,  5),  nevertheless,  under  the  preparatory  dispensation  of  Judaism,  "  would 
dwell  in  the  thick  darkness"  (1  Kings  viii,  12),  until  the  Light  of  Life,  "the  effulgence 
of  his  glory  "  (Heb.  i,  3),  came  forth  from  "  the  light  that  no  man  can  approach 
unto  "  (1  Tim.  vi,  16),  to  open  the  secrets  of  his  nature  to  man  (John  i,  18),  and  to 
dissipate  the  gloom  of  sinfulness  and  the  grave  (2  Tim.  i,  10). 

2.  As  the  harmonious  blending  of  all  the  prismatic  colors,  although  itself  not 
reckoned  as  a  (peculiar)  color  at  all,  white  continually  reappears  in  the  Tabernacle, 
the  opposite  of  black  and  the  emblem  of  innocence  in  the  Scriptural  sense  of  justifi- 
cution,  including  pardon,  purity  and  peace.  It  gleams  in  the  silvery  sockets,  hooks, 
rods,  etc.,  emblems  of  the  attractive  points  of  connection  between  the  various  stages 
in  divine  worship.  It  is  untinged  in  the  inviting  exterior  of  the  Court,  and  in  the 
cleanly  inner  garments  of  the  pontificate  ;  *  and  it  is  tinted  with  softer  hues  in  the 


For  this  reason  we  are  prepared  to  expect  that  its 
symbolism  will  be  conventional  in  tlie  highest  degree, 
and  we  shall  accordingly  find  that  it  enters  into  the 
sensuons  imagery  of  the  Tabernacle  to  express  cove- 
nant relations  only,  addressed  solely  to  the  eye  of 
faith,  and  not  belonging  to  the  natural  properties  of 
things.  The  three  remaining  senses  are  in  their  turn 
presented  each  with  their  appropriate  fields  of  sym- 
bolism in  the  concomitant  of  worship,  the  silver 
trumpets  for  the  ear,  the  incense  for  the  nose,  the 
tithes  for  the  palate.  Modern  science,  however,  has 
demonstrated  that  all  the  senses  are  affected  by  un- 
dulations or  pulsations  upon  the  nervous  extremities 
of  the  appropriate  organ,  and  that  colors  no  less  than 
sounds,  and  doubtless  also  smells,  tastes  and  tactual 
perceptions,  are  differentiated  by  arithmetical  ratios 
in  the  waves  and  strokes  through  the  medium.  The 
proportions  of  numbers  therefore  are  constantly  the 
index  of  order  in  nature,  and  this  is  at  least  a  hint  of 
the  method  of  "grace  upon  grace "  graduated  after 
the  lesson  of  the  parable  of  the  pounds  or  the  tal- 
ents. 

*  On  one  occasion  only,  namely,  the  great  day  of 


annual  atonement  (Lev.  xvi,  4,  23,  if  we  are  correct 
in  understanding  the  "  holy  garments "  of  simple 
"  linen,"  there  mentioned,  to  have  been  a  special  suit 
of  unbleached  stuff),  was  this  rule  departed  from,  in 
order  to  symbolize  the  general  sinfulness  of  the  priest- 
hood as  well  as  laity,  whom  the  high-priest  then  im- 
personated, as  if  in  weeds  of  half-mourning.  The 
earthly  representative  was  not  allowed  to  enter 
Jehovah's  immediate  presence  without  a  badge  of  his 
imperfect  purity,  but  the  ever  sinless  High-priest 
ascended  within  the  heavenly  vail  in  his  original 
vesture  of  perfect  glory. 

There  was  also  a  utilitarian  purpose  in  this  change 
of  clothing,  in  order  not  to  soil  the  pontifical  regalia 
with  the  blood  which  the  high-priest  was  re- 
quired to  sprinkle  so  freely  during  this  ceremony 
about  the  entire  premises  (ver.  14,  15,  "  upon  the 
mercy-seat  eastward"  is  immediately  explained  by 
"  before"  the  mercy-seat,  i.  e.  on  the  ground  in  front 
or  on  the  east  side,  not  on  the  lid  of  the  Ark  itself: 
so  in  ver.  18,  the  "altar  that  is  before  the  Lord  "  is 
the  copper  altar  of  burnt-ofifering,  not  the  golden  altar 
of  incense). 


78 


SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  TABERNACLE. 


entrance  and  side  screens  and  in  the  more  ornamental  parts  of  the  high-priest's  ap- 
parel. If,  as  we  have  conjectured,  the  fur  of  the  inner  skin-blanket  of  the  walls  were 
that  of  a  grayish  goat  or  antelope,*  it  will  correspond  well  with  the  unbleached 
material  of  the  sacerdotal  drawers  (of  flax),  cap  and  shirt  (either  of  flax  or  wool), 
worn  next  the  person ;  not  so  dazzling  wliite  as  to  show  the  slight  discoloration  of 
necessary  wear,  but  yet  white  enough  to  betray  any  real  soil  or  foreign  substance. 
This  may  have  hinted  at  the  every-day  hue  of  practical  piety  in  this  work-a-day 
world,  not  too  nice  for  mortal  touch,  and  yet  not  stained  by  actual  sin ;  while  the 
unsullied  lustre  of  the  bleached  linen  on  the  outmost  inclosure,  and  on  the  body  and 
head  of  the  high-priest,  was  a  type  of  the  immaculate  pale  of  the  true  church  of  God, 
and  of  the  spotless  character  of  its  true  ministry — above  all,  of  its  sinless  Head. 

3.  Foremost  among  the  true  colors  of  the  Tabernacle  was  what  in  common  par- 
lance may  be  called  "  blue,"  but  was  in  reality  a  mixture  of  indigo-blue  with  deep- 
red.     So  also  was  the  next  color  (they  are  always  named  in  the  same  order),f  the  dif- 


*  The  tachash  was  of  course  a  ceremonially  "  clean  " 
animal,  and  this  at  once  excludes  all  the  conjectures 
of  a  marine  creature,  whether  of  the  seal  or  por- 
poise tribe ;  for  although  these  may  possess  fins,  they 
certainly  have  no  scales  (see  Lev.  xi,  9-12;  Dent, 
xiv,  9,  10).  It  was  probably  of  the  goat  or  antelope 
genus,  several  specimens  of  whicli  of  a  suitable  char- 
acter are  found  in  the  adjacent  regions,  and  (me  of 
tiiem  especially  {antilope  harbatus)  is  said  to  bear  the 
closely  similar  name  of  tachasse  in  the  native  dialect 
of  the  interior  of  Asia.  The  use  of  tachash-skin  for 
shoes  (Kzek.  xvi,  10)  is  not  in  reference  to  coarse 
sandals,  but  to  a  soft  material  for  ladies'  wear.  In 
the  absence  of  a  definite  identification,  we  cannot 
securel}'  seek  for  the  symbolical  import  further  than 
to  presume  that  the  fur  was  fine  and  beautiful.  The 
rougher  and  stronger  external  skin  was  colored  for 
artistic  effect,  and  afforded  a  rich  contrast  to  the  dark 
roof  and  the  yellow  planks.  Beyond  this  it  is  not 
worth  while  to  pursue  the  symbolism. 

f  Atwater  observes  {The  Sacred  Tabernacle,  p.  284, 
note):  "The  colors  of  the  [wall]  curtain  called  the 
tabernacle  are  always  mentioned  in  the  order  which 
follows,  namel}',  fine-twined  linen,  blue,  purple,  and 
crimson  ;  but  in  all  otiier  cases,  including  the  three 
veils  and  the  sacerdotal  garments,  the  colors  are 
enumerated  as  blue,  purple,  crimson,  and  fine-twined 
linen.  No  one  has  suggested  a  reason  for  the  differ- 
ence of  arrangement."  One  of  these  statements  is 
not  strictly  correct,  for  in  Kxod.  xxxix,  29,  the  colors 
of  the  high-priest's  girdle  are  enumerated  in  the  same 
order  as  those  of  the  wall-curtains,  namely,  "fine- 
twined  linen,  and  blue,  and  purple,  and  scarlet." 
This  shows  that  no  special  significance  attaches  to 
the  position  of  the  wliite,  except  in  its  relation  to  the 


gold,  and  so  long  as  the  otlier  three  colors  are  in 
their  proper  order,  as  they  invariably  are.  Indeed 
it  proves  that  the  white  was  not  a  stripe  at  all,  lor 
in  the  description  of  the  girdle  of  the  ephod  (which 
we  can  hardly  suppose  to  have  been  different  in  this 
respect  from  tlie  principle  girdle)  the  white  occupies 
again  the  last  place  (xxviii,  8;  xxxix,  5).  This  is 
also  corroborated  by  the  fact  that  a  similar  variation 
occurs  as  to  the  relative  order  of  the  gold  embroidery 
in  the  two  accounts  of  the  curtain  for  the  court  en- 
trance (xxvii,  16;  xxxviii,  18).  The  reason  why  the 
linen  is  named  first  in  these  two  instances  only 
(namely,  the  curtains  twice,  xxvi,  1 ;  xxxvi,  8 ;  and 
the  principle  girdle  once,  xxxix,  29)  s^ems  to  be  tiie 
great  length  of  these  pieces  of  clotli  (ilic  longitudinal 
threads  being  of  that  material)  as  compared  witli  the 
others.  In  the  account  of  the  same  colors  used  in 
Solomon's  Temple  (2  Chron.  ii.  7,  14),  the  order  is  not  at 
all  observed,  except  as  to  the  inner  vail  (iii,  14';  because 
in  that  piece  of  cloth  alone  was  it  then  employed,  as 
there  were  no  side  curtains.  We  may  further  remark 
that  the  regular  order,  by  which  tlie  gold  (or  its 
equivalent,  the  embroidery)  is  mentioned  first,  and 
the  linen  last  (whenever  these  occur  at  all),  is  never 
varied  except  when  (as  in  tiie  oases  of  tiie  linen 
noticed,  and  that  of  the  gold  already  cited),  the 
ground  and  figured  colors  are  enumerated  in  the 
aspect  of  materials  in  bulk  or  in  process  of  manufac- 
ture, rather  tlian  as  made  up  articles  (so  the  gold 
last,  in  the  account  of  the  contributions,  -xxv,  4; 
xxviii,  5;  xx.xv,  6,  23;  of  tiie  men's  work,  xxxv,  35; 
x.xxviii,  23;  of  the  ephod,  xxxix,  2,  3;  of  the  breast- 
plate, xxviii,  15;  xxxix,  8).  Tiie  addition  of  "linen  " 
to  the  list  of  pomegranates  in  xxxi.x,  24  (wliere 
"  twined  "  refers  to  the  colored  threads),  is  a  mistake 


THE  BRIGHT   COLORS. 


79 


ferenee  being  that  in  the  former  the  bhie  predominated,  in  tlie  latter  the  red.  These 
two  are  the  only  instances  of  a  compound  color  occurring  in  the  whole  description 
(except  the  implied  brown  and  gray  noticed  above),  and  they  serve  to  show  that  no 
scientific  analysis  of  rays  is  regarded.  Green,  it  will  be  noticed,  is  altogether  excluded, 
notwithstanding  its  abundance  in  nature,  and  its  pleasant  effect  upon  the  eye, 
especially  in  a  verdureless  desert ;  perhaps  because  it  is  suggestive  of  the  earth,  and 
hence  too  worldly,  and  also  because  it  is  almost  exclusively  vegetable.  Blue,  how- 
ever, especially  of  the  warm  violet  shade,  is  eminently  characteristic  of  heaven  (the 
cerulean  sky,  with  a  reddish  tinge  prevalent  in  the  Orient),  and  hence  interpreters, 
as  by  common  consent,  have  not  failed  to  recognise  the  symbolism  here.  "Blue" 
was  used  alone,  to  indicate  the  unalloyed  serenity  of  the  celestial  M'orld,  the  topmost 
goal  of  human  aspiration ;  or  in  alternate  stripes  (never  commingled,  except  with  the 
white  hght  that  underlies  and  transfigures  it)  of  more  gorgeous  hues,  to  intimate  the 
successive  stages  of  terrestrial  life  and  station,  through  which  mortals  must  pass  in 
order  to  attain  it, 

4.  The  Tyrian  purple  of  antiquity  was  universally  accepted  as  the  emblem  of 
royalty,  which  in  some  countries  had  the  legal  monopoly  of  it,  as  among  the  Moham- 
medans green  is  the  exclusive  badge  of  a  lineal  descendant  of  the  prophet.  It  is 
therefore  so  appropriate  to  the  mansion  and  servitors  of  the  supreme  King  that  we 
need  not  dwell  upon  it.  It  stands  between  the  blue-red  and  the  deep-red,  as  its  gra- 
dation naturally  requires,  and  suggests  that  royalty,  as  yet  unknown  to  the  Hebrew 
polity,  should  eventually  come  as  a  mediator  between  God  (in  the  azure  heavens)  and 
man  (of  the  copper-colored  flesh) ;  * — a  human  vicegerent  of  divine  authority,  and  a 
Victim  with  a  two-fold  nature  and  dignity. 

5.  The  remaining  shade  of  red  therefore,  crimson  (not  "  scarlet,"  wdiich  is  too 
bright  and  flame-color  to  suit  the  gradation  and  symbolism),  or  cochineal-red,t  can 
only  point  to  blood,  shading  off  from  its  arterial  hue  (that  here  especially  denoted  as 
freshly  shed),  through  the  purplish  color  of  raw  flesh,  into  the  bluish  cast  of  the 
veins,  but  everywhere  in  Scripture  designating  the  life-principle  of  man  and  beast 
(Gen.  ix,  4-6),  and  the  essential  element  of  atonement  (Heb.  ix,  22).  Here  is  a  wide 
field  for  scientific  and  religious  investigation,  to  which  we  forbear  to  do  more  than  in- 
troduce the  reader,  leaving  him  to  explore  it  with  the  copious  aids  easily  accessible 
to  him.:j; 

6.  The  gold  so  lavishly  bestowed  upon  the  Tabernacle,  both  solid  and  laminated 
as  well  as  in  threads,  and  perhaps  likewise  (as  we  have  surmised)  in  the  silken  stitches 
of  the  embroidery,  yields  the  remaining  color,  yellow,  which  is  obviously  symbolical 


of  the  A.  V.  (comp.  xxviii,  33).  The  order  of  the 
words  in  question  therefore,  while  everywhere  true 
to  the  sj'^mbolism,  is  nowhere  mystical  or  cabalistic. 

*  It  is  noteworthy  that  adam  {"  man  ")  and  adamdh 
('•ground")  both  mean  red,  i.  e.  deep  flesh-color, 
which  is  also  that  of  unburnished  and  3'et  untarnished 
copper. 

f  The  Heb.  explicitly  identifies  it  with  a  worm. 


X  Dr.  H.  Clay  Trumbull,  editor  of  the  Sunday-School 
Times,  has  collected,  with  great  learning  and  research, 
a  mass  of  information  on  the  wide-spread  and  deep 
relations  of  blood  in  the  religious  beliefs  and  customs 
of  ancient  and  modern  nations,  in  his  interesting  and 
valuable  work,  entitled.  The  Blood  Covenant  (S.  Y., 
1885,  8vo),  which  is  in  entire  harmony  with  the 
pertinence  of  the  symbol  in  this  connection. 


80 


SYMBOLISM  OF   THE   TABERNACLE. 


of  the  sun,  as  tlie  great  source  of  Hglit  (white)  and  lieat  (briglit  red  as  in  flame).*  Tlirough 
tlie  metal,  iiowever,  as  the  standard  of  coinage,  it  becomes  the  emblem  of  valuation.f 


*  It  may  be  observed  that  fire  (whicli  is  a  sort  of 
orange,  or  mixture  of  red  and  yellow)  is  not  repre- 
sented here,  perhaps  on  account  of  the  dangerous 
tendency  to  its  worsliip  in  the  East. 

f  We  have  seen  that  tlie  three  wool-colors,  violet, 
purple  and  crimson,  are  always  in  tlie  same  order, 
and  we  have  presumed  that  they  were  invariably 
thus  placed  on  the  door-screens  and  elsewhere,  read- 
ing no  doubt  (after  the  Heb.  style)  from  right  to  left. 
Is  it  too  great  a  stretch  of  fancy  to  suppose  tiiat  this 
too  is  significant?  Perhaps  it  symbolizes,  first,  tlie 
all-embracing  and  all-covering  sky,  for  the  lioiizon 
bounds  every  view  laterallj',  and  the  zenith  every 
one  vertically  (hence  we  have  begun  and  ended  each 
screen  with  a  half-stripe  of  violet) ;  second,  that 
royalty  is  the  next  form  of  supremacy,  the  celestial 
Sovereign  being  above  all ;  third,  that  blood  is  the 
basis  of  unity  in  race  and  sympathy ;  and  hence  the 
universal  Lord  became  incarnate  for  man.  The  back- 
ground and  overlay  of  gold  intimates  the  price  of  hu- 
man redemption,  both  as  originally  provided,  and  as 
eventually  paid;  and  the  ground-color,  white,  points 
to  the  spiritual  purity  which  is  the  origin  and  aim  of 
the  wliole  scheme  of  the  Atonement.  We  may  then 
translate  the  entire  hieroglyph  thus:  Heaven's 
Royal  Blood  Purchases  Purity.  In  the  Hebrew 
idiomatic  arrangement  of  words  the  significance 
would  be  equally  apt  and  emphatic,  and  the  form  as 
precisely  tallying  in  epigrammatic  conciseness,  for  the 
five  substances  (or  rather  colors)  are  invariably  named 
(when  mentioned  together  in  this  connection)  in  the 
same  order  ("  gold,  and-violet-[wool],  and-purple- 
[wool],  and-crimson-[wool],  and-bleached-[linen]  "), 
so  as  to  compose  symbolically  the  ideogram,  which 
we  will  endeavor  to  represent  in  English  equivalents 
thus,  Yiqnii  haf<h-shamayiin  mim-malke-hem  he-dam-6 
eth-tohorath-enu,  literally.  Will-buy  the-heavem  from- 
their-King  hy-his-hlood  ow-cleansing,  i.  e.  Heaven  will 
procure  of  its  King  our  jmrification  with  his  own  blood. 
The  sacrifice  of  the  God-man  upon  the  cross  is  the 
only  ransom  of  the  liuman  race  from  sin  and  its 
divinely  pronounced  penalty. 

Expressed  Hebraistically  as  a  rebus,  the  elements 
will  stand  as  in  the  following  table.  It  may  be  ob- 
served that  the  three  great  realms  of  nature  are  all 
represented ;  the  mineral  (as  basal)  by  the  first  sub- 
stance, the  animal  (as  most  important)  by  the  next 
and  principal  three  (the  sea,  as  being  most  populous, 
by  two;  and  the  air  by  one),  and  tlie  vegetalile  by 
the  last:    the  hues  begin  with  a  faint  one,  and  end 


with  the  mildest;  while  the  intermediate  ones  are 
brilliant,  in  the  order  of  the  intensity  of  this  strong- 


Order. 

1 

2 

3                 4                  5 

Heb. 
name. 

Zabdb. 

Tekeleth. 

Argaman.     Shaui.       Shesh. 

Object. 

Gold. 

Cerulean 
Mussel. 

Tyrian    \  „  ,.  „, 
Conch.     "^'^  "'y- 

Linen. 

Color. 

Yellow. 

Violet. 

Purple. 

Crimson. 

White. 

Idea. 

Price. 

Heaven. 

Royalty. 

Blood. 

Purity. 

est  tint  (red) ;  the  earth,  with  its  (mixed  but  predom- 
inant) color  (green),  as  elsewhere  noted,  is  studiously 
ignored  in  expression  ;  but  with  its  living  tribes  is 
every-where  supposed  in  fact.  The  first,  the  middle 
and  the  last  thought  are  abstract,  the  other  two  con- 
crete (the  second  divine,  the  fourth  human);  each 
thus  linked  together :  the  initial  purpose  is  redemp- 
tion, the  central  one  supremacy  (of  the  God-man),  the 
final  one  holiness.  This  central  legend,  emblazoned 
on  every  avenue  to  the  divine  Majesty,  and  also  on 
the  person  of  the  pontifical  mediator,  silently  pro- 
claimed with  celestial  rays  (Psa.  xix,  1-4).  the  grand 
secret  of  the  one  true  faith,  devised  in  the  eternal 
counsels  of  the  Almighty  (Col.  i,  26,  27).  It  is  the 
gospel  of  the  Tabernacle,  and  a  fit  culmination  of  the 
symbolism  of  the  entire  edifice  and  its  paraphernalia. 
It  is  the  germinal  idea  at  the  core  of  this  architec- 
tonic embodiment  of  the  Levitical  cultus,  the  perpet- 
ual countersign  of  all  real  members  of  the  universal 
Church,  and  the  key-note  in  the  everlasting  song  of 
the  redeemed  (Rev.  v,  9,  10).  It  is  the  one  essential 
doctrine  both  of  Judaism  and  of  Christianity,  the 
cardinal  fact  foreshadowed  in  the  former  and  realized 
in  the  latter.  Like  the  prismatic  bow  of  the  first 
covenant  with  the  second  progenitor  of  our  race  (Gen. 
ix,  13),  and  like  the  mystic  ladder  of  Israel's  dream 
(Gen.  xxviii,  12),  it  bridges  the  void  between  heaven 
and  earth.  It  may  be  reserved  for  modern  science  to 
descry  in  its  variegated  bands  the  spectrum  that  shall 
disclose  something  of  the  inner  nature  of  that  far-off 
world  where  in  his  glorified  humanity  the  divine  Son 
is  fitting  up  tlie  home  of  his  saints. 

As  the  width  of  the  successive  colored  stripes  is  not 
given  (tliey  were  doubtless  co-equal  in  each  piece  of 
stuff),  we  iiMve  taken  the  liberty  of  varying  them  in 


GEOMETRICAL    FORMS.  81 

III.  The  remaining  element  of  objects  in  and  aljont  the  Tabernacle,  that  strikes 
the  sense  of  sight  as  well  as  that  of  touch,  is  figure,  and  this  we  will  consider  both  as 
relates  to  mathematical  form  and  to  general  shape, — the  one  a  conventional  or  utili- 
tarian sort  of  distinction,  and  the  other  a  po^jular  and  ?esthetical  one,  yet  both  blended 
in  actual  occurrence. 

1.  Angular  figures  are  mostly  artificial,  and  therefore  predominate  in  the 
mechanism  of  the  Tabernacle,  especially  the  rectangle,  and  this  chiefly  as  a  square  ; 
for  the  triangle  appears  but  occasionally,  as  the  bisection  or  diagonal  of  the  quadri- 
lateral. This  figure  is  evidently  the  symbol  of  regularity,  and  leads  us  back  to  the 
idea  of  perfect  proportion,  with  which  we  set  out  in  this  branch  of  our  discussion. 
The  cube  or  third  multiple  of  the  same  dimension,  however,  is  rarely  if  at  all  found, 
(except  in  the  "  tabernacle  "  part  of  the  Most  Holy  Place),  perhaps  because  it  is  mo- 
notonous.    The  oblique  parallelogram  is  altogether  avoided,  as  being  unshapely. 

2.  More  difficult  of  construction  (without  the  contrivance  of  the  lathe),  and  yet 
more  abundant  in  nature,  is  the  round  figure,  whether  plane  or  spherical  ;  and  this  is 
fairly  frequent  in  the  Tabernacle  apparatus,  although  never  explicitly  stated.  It  is. 
the  type  of  symmetry,  every  point  of  the  periphery  being  equidistant  from  the  centre. 
To  make  it  symbolical  of  the  planetary  bodies  would  be  to  anticipate  the  Copernican 
svstem.* 


this  respect  so  as  to  suit  the  panels  or  spaces  which 
they  were  intended  to  fill ;  and  it  is  a  verj''  remarkable 
coincidence  tliat  the  violet  falls  exactly  in  the  plain 
panel  for  the  cherubim  on  the  interior  wall  cunains. 
It  is  interesting  to  find  moreover  that  in  our  arrange- 
ment of  the  folds  the  violet  loops  are  always  attached 
to  the  corners  of  the  violet  panels,  as  congruitj'  re- 
quires. Moreover  every  hanging  begins  and  ends 
with  violet — heaven  being  the  source  and  aim  of  tlie 
Atonement.  The  white  linen  foundation  speaks  of 
the  purity  and  strength  that  underlie  the  whole 
scheme  of  redemption. 

p]ven  the  color  of  the  superimposed  embroidery  is 
in  harmony  with  the  above  symbolism,  for  as  yellow 
is  the  emblem  of  the  sun,  this  orb,  the  fourth  element 
in  the  cosmical  system,  fitly  wanders  over  the  face 
of  the  others,  especially  of  the  blue  sky,  not  only  call- 
ing into  being  the  (vegetable)  forms  of  beauty  (vines, 
etc.)  but  also  personifying  the  (animal)  powers  of 
nature  (the  cherubim). 

It  is  noteworthy  that  as  the  temples  and  persons 
of  the  Egyptian  and  Assyrian  monuments  are  figured 
all  over  with  significant  inscriptions,  so  the  drapery 
of  the  Tabernacle  and  its  high-priest  is  thoroughly 
pictured  with  this  central  lesson  of  the  redemptive 
scheme. 

*  Of  the  three  simplest  figures,  namely,  the  circle, 
the  triangle,  and  the  quadrangle,  representing  respect- 
ively the  unit  as  an  emblem  of  eternit}-,  the  triad  as 
6 


an  emblem  of  strength,  and  the  paralellogram  as  an 
emblem  of  convenience,  the  first  and  the  last  appear 
in  the  symbolism  of  the  Tabernacle  as  representatives 
of  perfect  form  from  opposite  points  of  view  suitable 
to  their  nature:  namely,  the  one  subjectively  from 
within,  as  a  type  of  self-poised  independent  complete- 
ness, in  the  pillars,  the  laver,  and  certain  details  of 
the  apparatus;  the  other  objectively  from  without,  in 
the  superficial  arrangement  of  the  apartments,  and 
the  shape  of  certain  pieces  of  manufacture.  Their  re- 
spective solid  forms,  the  sphere  and  the  cube,  are  of 
rare  occurrence;  the  former,  which  is  the  proper  sym- 
bol of  Deity,  and  therefore  not  to  be  graphically 
represented  (according  to  the  second  commandment), 
scarcely  appearing  at  all  (for  even  the  pomegranates 
and  the  bells  are  imperfect  models) ;  the  latter  only 
in  the  inmost  shrine,  the  very  abode  of  Deity,  and 
thus  the  appropriate  type,  not  onl}'  of  heaven  itself 
(into  which  Christ  has  finally  entered,  and  whither 
his  redeemed  shall  follow  him),  but  also  of  the  (as 
yet)  invisible  Church  (whither  under  Christianit}'  all 
the  saints  are  even  now  admitted  as  priests  each 
for  himself).  The  two  altars  are  squares,  but  not 
cubes,  as  if  denoting  a  minor  degree  of  perfection, 
the  offerings,  whether  external  and  physical  (like 
animal  victims)  or  internal  and  spiritual  (like  clouds 
of  incense)  being  limited  (at  least  on  earth)  by  the 
natural  infirmities  of  the  saints.  The  individual 
planks  of  the  walls,  which  may  symbolize  the  '-living 


82 


SYMBOLISM   OF   THE   TABERNACLE. 


3.  Tlie  most  unique  of  the  forms  introduced  among  the  accessories  of  the  Taber- 
nacle is  that  of  tlie  cherubim,  and,  although  purely  symbolical,  they  have  accordingly 
been  the  greatest  puzzle  to  interpreters,  who,  being  thrown  upon  their  wits  alone, 
have  often  taken  the  most  unwarrantable  liberties  in  divining  their  significance.  "We 
venture  to  expound  them  as  cosmical  emblems  of  the  divine  attributes,  or  as  modern 
science  (somewliat  atheistically,  we  fear)  styles  them,  "  the  laws  of  nature."  They 
are  the  creative  and  providential  functions  of  God,  exercised  in  behalf  of  his  human 
subjects  through  the  agency — not  of  angels  (who  are  actual  persons,  i.  e.  free  moral 
beings),  as  Scripture  represents  to  be  done  in  the  supernatural  relations  of  the  world, 
but  of  special  imaginary  beings,  invented  for  this  sole  purpose,  in  the  national  and 
ecclesiastical  spheres.  Accordingly  they  are  depicted  as  having  a  material  form,  and 
an  animated  existence  ;  as  invested  with  a  (human)  body,  yet  ruddy  as  polished  cop- 
per (not  feathered,  except  probably  on  the  wings ;  nor  hairy,  except  of  course  on  the 
head,  and  possibly  about  the  feet) ;  as  standing  on  the  cloven  feet  and  upright  (pliable) 
legs  of  a  ceremonially  "  clean  "  creature,  to  which  free  locomotion  is  secured  if  needed, 
or  a  firm  position  when  at  rest ;  as  possessing  arms  for  convenient  and  efiicient  service, 
and  likewise  wings  for  independent  transportation,  the  latter  double  for  the  purpose  of 
a  garment.  (The  consentaneous  "  wheels "  of  Ezekiel,  to  denote  a  support  to  the- 
divine  throne,  with  their  felloes  of  eyes  [in  Rev.  iv,  6,  8,  the  eyes  are  many,  and  on 
the  person],  denoting  vigilance  in  every  direction,  are  a  later  device  of  the  theo- 
phantic  machinery.)  The  four  faces  (the  countenance  being  the  distinctive  feature 
by  which  to  recognise  individuals)  are  the  main  index  of  their  typical  significance  ; 
the  human  denotes  intelligence,  the  leonine  strength,  the  bovine  perseverance,  and 
the  aquiline  rapidity  ;*  so  that  we  have  the  complete  picture  of  an  omniscient,  omnipo- 


stones  "  of  the  true  Temple,  are  accordingly  rectan- 
gular merely,  as  being  finite  components  of  the  di- 
vine abode ;  and  the  outer  apartments  (holy  place, 
sanctuary  as  a  whole,  and  entire  court)  are  for  the 
same  reason  emblematic  of  this  earthly  state  of  ex- 
istence and  worship,  which  will  be  dispensed  with  in 
the  celestial  Temple  by  the  occupants  of  "  houses  not 
made  witii  hands,  eternal  in  the  heavens."  Yet  even 
the  earthly  fane  was  not  absolutely  perfect  either  for 
divine  residence  or  worship,  for  it  was  surmounted  b}' 
the  prismatic  peak,  which  pointed  skyward  to  the 
superincumbent  cloud  as  the  place  of  the  continual 
immanence  of  deity,  rather  than  to  tlie  occasional 
Shekinah  below.  The  outer  room  of  course  denoted 
a  less  degree  of  the  divine  presence,  as  to  the  uncon- 
secrated  or  nominal  worsliipper,  and  the  outer  court 
even  less,  as  to  the  lay  or  Gentile  world ;  the  former 
still  under  the  shade  of  the  sacred  vocation,  and  the 
latter  only  under  the  broad  canopy  of  heaven's  gen- 
eral covenant.  The  triangle  is  of  infrequent  occur- 
rence, and  its  solid,  the  pyramid,  seems  to  have  been 
avoided  as  an  Egyptian  tj'pe  of  stability,  both  hybrid 


(for  the  base  is  not  triangular)  and  inapposite  (for  the 
Tabernacle  was  neither  stationarj^  nor  perpetual). 

*  Even  the  relative  position  of  the  four  fiices  of  thc- 
cherubim  appears  to  be  significant:  the  human,  as  is. 
befitting  the  lord  of  creation,  occupying  the  front; 
the  leonine,  as  king  of  the  lower  orders,  ranking  next 
on  the  right;  the  bovine,  as  chief  oC  the  domestic- 
animals,  supporting  on  the  left;  and  the  aquiline,  as 
prince  of  the  air,  bringing  up  the  rear.  As  symbolical 
of  the  laws  of  nature  the  fourfold  aspect  of  the 
cherubim  is  neither  arbitrary  nor  accidental,  but 
points  to  ever)'^  quarter  of  the  earth  (comp.  Job  xxiii, 
8,  9;  Zech.  vi.  1-8),  whither  they  are  the  vehicles  of 
sovereign  Providence,  acting  with  the  far-reaching 
aim  of  sagacity,  the  right  hand  of  efficiency,  the  left 
of  persistency,  and  the  pinions  of  celerity;  and  with 
these  essential  attributes  all  their  members  corre- 
spond. Ever  since  the  fall  of  man  they  forefend  liis-. 
access  to  the  elixir  of  life  by  the  sword  of  mortality 
brandished  outward  in  the  three  directions  of  disease, 
accident  and  old  age;  they  garrison  the  Church  im- 
pregnabiy  against  all  assaults  (comp.  Matt,  xvi,  18)^ 


ANIMAL   FORMS. 


83 


tent,  uniform  and  ubiquitous  maintenance  and  superintendence  of  the  external  fortunes 
and  affairs  of  the  body  of  true  worshippers,  i.  e.  tlie  Church  in  all  time.  *     It  was  for 


standing  on  guard  at  the  portal  of  the  King  of  kings, 
and  presiding  over  the  depositary  of  his  statutes ; 
they  are  specially  subsidized  in  every  ecclesiastical 
crisis  (as  in  the  book  of  Ezekiel),  although  they  only 
appear  to  the  inspired  eye  (comp.  2  Kings  vi,  17).  and 
tliey  will  not  cease  their  ministry  till  tlie  close  of 
time  (Rev.  iv,  6-9,  etc.). 

*  It  need  occasion  neither  alarm  nor  surprise,  if 
the  early  preconceptions  of  these  singular  forms, 
wliich  have  been  idealized  by  the  fancy  of  poets  and 
painters  and  even  of  sober  theologians  into  "cherubs" 
of  infantile  and  charming  guise,  have  to  be  brushed 
aside  by  tlie  rigid  facts  of  prosaic  analysis  and  cool 
exegesis  ;  but  the  love  of  truth  compels  us  to  dismiss 
all  such  vague  and  chimerical  ideas.  We  shall  be  con- 
tent if  we  reproduce  them  in  a  shape  not  positively 
repugnant  to  native  delicacy.  (In  our  picture  the 
portrait  of  the  lion,  which  is  the  most  difficult  to 
harmonize  with  the  others,  is  copied  from  a  photo- 
graph of  a  specimen,  particularly  mild  at  the  moment, 
in  the  Zoological  Gardens  of  London.)  We  must 
ever  bear  in  mind  that  they  were  intended  not  to 
amuse  but  to  symbolize,  to  delight  the  spiritual  ap- 
prehension rather  than  to  fascinate  the  eye.  All 
sensuous  imagery  would  have  savored  of  idolatry ; 
and  this  the  sacredness  of  the  shrine  most  intensely 
abhorred.  Furthermore,  modern  notions  have  largely 
confounded  clierubim  with  angels,  although  in  Script- 
ure the  two  are  widely  different  in  character,  func- 
tion, and  representation.  The  latter  are  properly 
embodiments  of  personal  and  moral  agents,  real  beings ; 
the  former  are  merely  exponents  of  ideal  and  natural 
qualities,  configurations  not  only  nonexistent  but  im- 
possible in  fact.  The  cherubim  are  undraped  save  by 
wings,  in  order  to  denote  their  original  simplicity  of  sen- 
timent {inpuris  naturalibus)  and  their  nonconformity  to 
artificial  fashions.  Angels  on  the  contrarj^  always  seem 
in  Scripture  to  have  appeared  in  the  ordinary  costume 
of  men,  even  if  with  a  halo.  In  the  passage  usually  cited 
in  support  of  the  winged  form  of  angels  (Dan.  ix,  21),  Ga- 
briel is  explicitly  called  a  "  man,"  nor  is  there  the  sliglit- 
est  intimation  of  his  otherwise  than  perfect  human 
form.  The  phrase  "  being  caused  to  fly  swiftly,"  is  a  cu- 
rious instance  of  alliteration,  mudph  hldph,  which  may 
be  rendered  literally  "made  to  fly  with  weariness," 
i.  e.,  having  suddenly  arrived  with  the  fatigue  of  a  long 
journey ;  for  the  former  word  is  frequently  used  in  the 
metaphorical  sense  of  rapid  motion,  irrespective  of 
wings,  and  the  latter  word  has  no  connection  with 
flying.      Both  words  are   evidently  taken  somewhat 


out  of  their  ordinary  meaning,  for  the  sake  of  agree- 
ment in  sound.  Indeed  the  best  modern  Hebraists 
derive  them  both  from  the  same  word — and  that  the 
latter  one,  which  is  grammatically  the  more  probable 
(both  from  its  form  and  the  idiom) — and  render  the 
clause  "  utterly  weary."  Thus  all  trace  of  winged 
angels  disappears  from  Scripture ;  for  the  locomotion 
in  Rev.  viii,  13;  xiv,  6,  was  a  special  adaptation,  as  in 
xii,  14 ;  and  other  instances  adduced  (Judg.  xiii,  20;  Psa. 
civ,  4 ;  Isa.  vi,  2  ;  Matt,  xxviii,  3)  are  not  to  the  point. 

As  to  the  seemingly  uncouth  combination  of  animal 
and  human  elements  in  the  cherubic  figures,  our 
prejudices  mustgive  way  before  the  plain  descriptions 
of  the  Bible,  and  the  delineations  of  contemporary  re- 
ligions. The  monuments  of  Egypt  and  Assyria  fre- 
quently represent  similar  custodians  of  palaces, 
temples  and  sacred  rites  as  having  feathered  wings 
and  a  bird's  beak,  and  in  other  emblematic  carvings 
in  like  cases  a  human  face  surmounts  the  body  of  a 
bull  or  a  lion.  Sometimes  a  more  ignoble  beast,  or 
even  a  fish  or  a  serpent  is  pressed  into  service.  Pa- 
gan mythology  is  full  of  such  hybrid  forms.  The 
sphinx  is  oneof  the  most  notable  riddles  of  antiquity. 
Nobody  imagines  that  such  creatures  actually  existed. 
The  Scriptural  cherubim  are  a  great  improvement 
upon  even  the  classical  models,  and  their  very  odditj' 
renders  their  significance  the  more  striking. 

The  substantially  human  form  likewise  of  those 
occult  figures  the  Urim  and  Thummim,  can  scarcely 
be  doubted  after  an  examination  of  the  passages 
where  they  are  referred  to,  and  especially  upon  a 
comparison  with  the  teraphim  of  the  Hebrews  and 
the  images  of  the  Eg3'ptian  shrines.  The  reader, 
however,  will  observe  that  the  genuine  ones  are  never 
mentioned  in  the  Mosaic  account  as  objects  of  wor- 
ship, but  only  as  a  sort  of  talisman  for  divination,  ^t 
this  focal  point  of  the  sacerdotal  apparatus,  tliere- 
fore,  we  again  meet  with  a  most  striking  premonition 
of  the  atonement,  whicli  links  earth  to  heaven,  and 
allies  God  with  man  ;  not  now,  as  in  the  sacred  colors, 
which  are  an  aspect  of  tlie  vicarious  sacrifice  for  man 
before  God,  but  in  the  theanthropic  shape,  which 
bodies  forth  the  Deity  before  man,  as  the  other  great 
design  of  the  assumption  of  flesh  by  the  Son  of  God. 
Jesus  is  not  only  the  light  {Hr)  of  the  world  (John  i, 
5,9;  viii,  12),  but  the  sole  perfect  (thum)  human 
being,  who  reveals  the  divine  nature  and  purposes 
(.lohn  i,  18),  not  alone  by  his  person,  whicli  is  the 
express  image  of  the  Father,  but  also  in  his  life, 
which  is  the  effulgence  of  His  glory, — not  simply  hy 


84 


SYMBOLISM  OF  THE   TABERNACLE. 


this  cnltus  that  tlie  Tabernacle  itself  was  erected,  in  place  of  the  casual,  isolated  and 
impromptu  devotion  of  persons  or  families  previously,  with  whatever  rites  orin  w^hat- 
ever  order  each  might  see  tit,  M^hether  borrowed  from  traditions  or  profane  sources, 
or  dictated  by  caprice  or  fashion.  So  essential  is  a  meeting-house  that  it  has  at  length 
taken  the  name  of  a  "  church  ;  "  and  so  useful  is  a  ritual  that  even  non-liturgical  com- 
munions have  adopted  some  conventional  order  of  service.  If  they  shall  succeed  in 
retaining  the  divine  supervision  symbolized  in  the  cherubic  guards,  they  may  promise 
themselves  permanence  and  success  in  the  earth  ;  but  it  is  only  by  preserving  the 
spiritual  baptism  prefigured  in  the  fire  of  the  Cloud,  the  Altar  and  the  Shekinah,  that 
they  can  hope  to  fit  the  souls  of  their  membership  for  the  inward  communion  either 
here  or  hereafter. 

The  varied  postures  of  the  upper  set  of  cherubic  wings,  to  which  we  have  pre- 
viously called  attention,  remain  to  be  expounded.  On  the  wall  drapery,  where  the 
figures  are  entirely  stationary,  we  have  conceived  the  wings  as  being  folded  nearly 
vertically  *  (as  described  in  Ezek.  i,  24,  25,  "  When  they  stood,  they  [not  "  and  had  "] 
let  down  their  wings  ")  ;  and  this  seems  to  us  fitly  to  denote  the  quiescent  attitude  of 
the  cherubim  there  as  the  fixed  custodians  of  the  holy  apartments.  On  the  Yail, 
however,  where  they  are  raised  a  cubit  from  the  ground,  in  mid-air  (so  to  speak),  of 
course  they  would  be  represented  as  flying ;  their  wings  being  extended  horizontally, 
so  as  to  touch  those  of  the  adjoining  cherub  (as  described  again  in  Ezek.  i,  9,  11 
[render  "  parted  from  as  to  upward,"  instead  of  "  stretched  upward,"  i.  e.  separated  at 
the  top  outwardly  from  the  body],  23,  24]),  like  active  sentinels,  barring  the  passage- 
way.f     Finally  over  the  Ark,  on  the  lid  of  which  they  stand,:}:  and  yet  are  raised  as 


his  precepts,  wliicli  ai-e  the  norm  of  infallible  truth, 
but  likewise  by  his  example,  which  is  the  complete 
pattern  for  all  saints.  It  we  are  correct  in  supposing 
that  tlie  object  in  the  pectoral  pocket  of  the  liigh-priest 
was  in  fact  single,  altliough  in  name,  for  tlie  sake  of 
superlative  emphasis,  botli  double  and  plural,  tlien 
this  sole  and  peerless  God-man,  who  once  disclosed 
liis  innate  splendor  to  the  privileged  three  on  the 
mount  of  transfiguration,  and  occasionally  gave 
glimpses  of  his  beatified  glory,  as  to  the  protomartjT 
and  to  the  pre-eminent  apostle,  is  tlie  real  and  apt 
antitype  of  this  divining  symbol  as  well  as  of  the 
Shekinah  between  tlie  clierubim  ;  and  the  same  wlio 
will  be  finally  gazed  upon,  as  the  cynosure  of  tlie' 
true  fane,  and  the  nnsetting  sun  of  the  new  heavens, 
by  all  the  devout  tliere  forever  recognised  as  "kings 
and  priests  unto  God." 

*  Probablj'  over  tlie  other  pair,  so  tliat,  as  on  tlie 
Egyptian  moniunents,  they  appear  as  if  having  but 
two. 

f  Xot  now  armed,  as  in  Gen.  iii,  24,  but  allowing 
the  high-priest  to  enter,  yet  not  without  his  raising 
the  Vail,  and  thus  for  tiie  moment  disjilacing  them. 

J  The  Ark  was  closed  by  a  lid,  not  as  a  sign  of 


secrecy  (for  the  Law  was  proclaimed  with  the  most 
portentous  pwblicitj'),  but  in  token  of  inviolate  safety 
and  perpetuity ;  and  the  cordon  of  cherubs  was  sig- 
nificant of  the  same  guaranty.  The  Shekinah  glow 
occasionally  vouchsafed  upon  it,  as  a  mark  of  the 
divine  acceptance  of  the  "blood  of  sprinkling,  that 
speaketh  better  things  than  that  of  Abel "  (Heb.  xii, 
24,  the  one  calling  for  vengeance  against  the  fratri- 
cide, the  other  for  pardon;  see  Luke  xxiii,  34),  when 
offered  b)'  tlie  devout  high-priest  as  a  representative 
of  his  people,  was  a  message  of  "mercy  glorying  over 
justice"  (as  we  may  properly  render  James  ii,  13; 
conip.  Psa.  Ixxxv,  10)  symbolized  by  the  Decalogue 
lying  below  it;  and  this  justification,  which  takes 
place  in  the  arcana  of  heaven,  is  testified  to  the  wor- 
shipper without  by  the  spirit  of  adoption  (Rom.  viii, 
15,  16;  Gal.  iv,  6),  whicli  tlie  ascended  Advocate  has 
sent  into  the  hearts  of  believers  (Jolin  xvi,  7)  as  a 
notice  of  his  own  triumphant  reception  within  the 
Vail  (Acts  ii,  33  ;  Heb.  x,  1 2). 

Tlie  material  on  which  the  Decalogue  was  inscribed 
was  an  emblem  of  its  formal  rigidity  (sec  2  Cor.  iii, 
3,  7),  the  number  of  its  tables  indicated  the  trust- 
worthiness of  its  testimony  (see  Dout.  xvii,  6),  their 


CHERUBIC  ATTITUDES. 


85 


liigli  fi'oni  the  ground  as  on  the  Vail,  they  are  in  the  act  of  ahghting ;  and  therefore 
lift  their  wings  somewhat  higher,  face  one  another,  and  bend  their  arms  embracingly 
towards  the  Mercy-seat  (Exod.  xxv,  20),  as  if  it  were  tlieir  nest.* 


Their  interest  gradu- 


eiigraving  on  both  sides  was  expressive  of  its  full 
significance  (comp.  Rev.  v,  1),  and  its  square  form  de- 
noted its  perfection  (comp.  Rev.  xxi,  IG).  The  divine 
autograph  was  a  seal  of  its  direct  authority,  which 
even  the  Son  has  never  abrogated  (see  Matt,  v,  17,  18). 

The  disappearance  of  the  autograph  tables  of  the 
Decalogue  after  the  destruction  of  the  Temple  by  the 
Babylonians  was  the  signal  for  a  more  earnest  study 
of  the  Law  by  tlie  Jews,  wliich  ensured  its  transferral 
to  their  minds  so  as  never  to  be  again  forgotten,  in 
letter  at  least  (Jer.  xxxi,  33). 

*  This  central  object  of  the  whole  economy  of  the 
Tabernacle  affords  a  most  signal  example  of  tiie 
casual  and  inaccurate  style  current  in  the  interpreta- 
tion of  the  symbolism  of  the  entire  subject  from  the 
earliest  times  to  the  present  day.  The  lid  of  the  Ark 
has  been  made  an  emblem  of  divine  reconciliation 
without  the  slightest  foundation  for  the  conceit. 
The  prominence  and  universality  of  this  error  deserve 
a  detailed  refutation. 

(1.)  Philologically  considered  the  Heb.  word  Tcappor- 
etli  is  a  fern,  participial  noun  from  kaphdr,  which 
means  to  cover,  and  therefore  signifies  merely  a  cover- 
ing  or  "lid"  to  the  box.  It  is  used  of  this  article 
only,  because  none  of  the  other  pieces  of  furniture 
or  utensils  had  a  movable  cover.  The  Septuagint 
version  translated  it  by  the  Greek  term  Mlasterion, 
which  means  propitiatory;  the  Latin  Vulgate  imi- 
tated the  rendering  by  propitiatoriutn,  and  the  later 
versions  have  heedlessly  adopted  the  same  idea,  as  in 
the  Authorized  English  "  mercy-seat,"  which  the 
Revised  Version  has  retained.  Hence  a  world  of 
mistaken  sentiment  nnd  false  poetry  has  been  freely 
constructed  throughout  Christendom  by  allusions  to 
this  supposed  symbol,  based  upon  a  sheer  blunder  of 
translation.  It  is  true,  the  verb,  especiall}'  in  the 
Fiel  or  intensive  conjugation,  from  whicli  this  word 
is  immediately  derived,  often  has  the  figurative  sense 
of  covering  up  or  pardoning  sin ;  but  this  very  rarelj' 
occurs  without  express  mention  of  guilt  and  a  prepo- 
sition to  connect  the  object  with  the  verb,  and  thus 
point  out  the  figurative  relation.  The  Most  Holy 
Place  is  once  (1  Chron.  xxviii,  11)  stj^ed  "  the  house 
of  the  kapporeth,^^  but  this  was  never  a  distinctive  or 
prominent  title  of  the  building  or  the  apartment; 
though  in  David's  time  it  may  naturally  have  been 
used  for  the  home  about  to  be  prepared  for  the  long 
houseless  Ark  itself,  of  wliich  the  knpporftli  was  so 
conspicuous  a  part.     There  is  no  sufficient  linguistic 


reason  for  departing  from  the  obvious  literal  mean- 
ing of  the  word  here,  as  denoting  a  cover  to  the 
chest. 

(2.)  Exegetically  regarded,  nothing  could  be  more 
inappropriate  than  the  notion  of  any  piacular  or 
atoning-  quality  or  reference  in  the  lid  of  the  Ark  or 
anj'tiiing  connected  with  it.  True,  it  was  the  seat 
of  the  divine  Shekinah,  when  present;  but  this  was 
occasional  onlj-,  accessible  to  the  high-priest  solelj-, 
but  once  a  year  at  thai,  and  deterrent  when  it  did 
occur  (see  1  Kings  viii,  11).  The  cherubim  that 
stood  upon  it  were  in  like  manner  forbidding  rather 
than  inviting ;  for,  as  at  the  gate  of  Parad'se,  they 
were  designed  to  warn  off  all  intruders;  and  with  a 
like  intent  the  Ark  itself  was  closed  from  all  inspec- 
tion b\'  the  cover  in  question.  Privacy  and  severity 
were  the  regnant  principles  in  the  entire  arrange- 
ment of  this  article  most  especially.  There  is  not 
the  slightest  hint  that  clemency  or  pardon  was  signi- 
fied, but,  on  the  contrary,  tlie  most  rigid  seclusion  and 
inexorable  justice.  The  high-priest  himself  was  not 
allowed  to  approach  it  in  his  robes  of  office,  but  as  a 
culprit  doomed  to  degradation  and  death.  Inaccessi- 
bility and  sternness  were  its  chief  or  only  lessons- 
Such  passages  as  Exod.  xxv,  22,  which  speak  of 
communication  from  that  spot,  have  reference  to 
Moses  exclusively. 

(3.)  Autlioritaiiveltj  expounded,  we  are  not  at  lib- 
erty to  appeal  to  the  apostle's  allusion  in  tlic  Epistle 
to  the  Hebrews  (ix,  5,  where  the  popular  term  hilas- 
terion  is  of  course  employed,  but  without  any  special 
stress  or  interpretation);  for  the  context  shows  that 
the  main  purpose  of  the  reference  is  to  bring  out  a 
contrast  in  this  respect  between  the  Jewish  "  mercy- 
seat"  and  the  Christian,  rather  than  to  make  the 
former  symbolical  of  the  latter.  Thus,  whether  we 
consider  the  rent  vail  as  the  separation  between  this 
world  and  the  other  as  regards  the  glorified  Redeem- 
er in  heaven,  or  his  justified  believers  on  earth,  it  is 
emphatically  true  that  Christians  only  are  privileged 
to  enter  the  sacred  presence  with  assurance  of  wel- 
come (Heb.  X,  19-22).  The  true  and  only  propitiatw- 
ium  is  the  person  of  Jestis  Christ  (Rom.  iii,  25; 
comp.  Heb.  ii,  17 ;  1  John  ii,  2;  iv,  10);  and  this 
cannot  with  any  propriety  be  symbolized  by  the  Ark, 
for  although  the  sprinkling  with  blood  occurred  in 
connection  with  both,  yet  in  the  case  of  Jesus  it  was 
his  own  blood  poured  forth  upon  his  own  body,  while 
the  Ark  had  no  blood  of  its   own,   and   the  victim's 


86 


SYMBOLISM   OF   THE   TABERNACLE. 


ally  deepens  and  intensifies  in  the  sacred  deposit  intrusted  to  tlieir  care  amid  the  dark- 
ness, tlie  silence  and  the  loneliness  of  the  Holy  of  Holies,  and  at  length  they  hover 
over  it  with  the  affection  of  foster-parents.  Tlironed  within  this  triple  line  of  mysti- 
cal guards,  the  blazing  symbol  of  the  King  of  kings  occasionally  deigned  to  manifest 
itself  to  the  favored  but  representative  worshipper,  in  all  that  mortal  eyes  could  bear 
of  the  divine  glory  (Exod.  xxxiii,  18-23  ;  xxxiv,  5-8),  while  overhead  perpetually  hung 
the  milder  token  of  Jehovah's  presence  before  the  public  gaze,  in  the  nimbus  *  alter- 
nately white  and  glo^ang. 

4.  In  the  sacred  Ark,  although  designated  by  a  different  term   from  that  of 
I^oah,  f  we  may  still  recognise  the  common  idea  of  preservation  ;  in  the  present  case 


did  not  actually  come  in  contact  with  it  all  (as  we 
have  shown  on  p.  77,  note).  The  arguments  adduced  in 
favor  of  the  popular  view  by  the  writer  of  tlie  Bibk 
Commentary  (i,  368,  Am.  ed.)  are  insufficient  to  coun- 
tervail these  objections.  The  only  sense  in  which 
the  idea  of  a  projntiatory  could  be  entertained,  con- 
sistently with  sound  Christian  typology,  would  be 
the  local  one  of  a  favored  spot  where  Jehovah 
deigned  to  show  himself  in  token  of  special  approba- 
tion of  the  worship  rendered  him ;  but  for  this 
tlionght  the  term  "  throne  "  would  have  been  more 
appropriate,  a  meaning  which  cannot  be  extracted 
from  kapporeth,  although  it  is  implied  in  the  word 
yosJieb,  sometimes  used  by  the  sacred  writers  in  poet- 
ical passages  alluding  to  the  sanctuary  (iit.  "the 
[OneJ  sitting  between  the  cherubim,"  etc.).  Among 
eminent  modern  Jewish  and  Christian  sciiolars,  some 
are  still  in  favor  of  tlie  rendering  "  mercy-seat"  (so 
Kalisch,  Lange,  Keil,  Michaelis,  Tholuck,  and  a  few 
others);  but  the  great  majority  of  the  best  linguists 
and  interpreters  favor  the  simpler  version  "lid"  (so 
De  Wette,  Geseniu?,  Fiirst.  Schott,  Zunz,  Knobel, 
Herxheimer,  Leeser,  Benisch,  Sliarpe,  Deliizsch, 
Kuiuol,  Winer,  and  many  others);  some  are  unde- 
cided (Roseumiiller,  Ewald,  Hengstenberg,  etc.). 

*  Hcb.  andn,  the  dense  thunder-cloud,  loaded  with 
the  refreshing  shower,  yet  charged  with  the  electric 
flashes.  Sir  Walter  Scott,  in  the  song  which  he  puts 
into  the  mouth  of  the  captive  Jewess  Rebecca  at  her 
evening  devotions,  while  awaiting  death  by  fire  as  a 
sorceress  for  her  benevolent  cures  {Ivanhoe,  chap, 
xxxi.x),  has  so  beautiful!}' expressed  some  of  the  sym- 
bolical features  of  the  pillar  of  cloud  and  fire,  that  we 
transcribe  it  lierc,  taking  the  liberty  of  making  a  few 
verbal  cliangcs  (especially  to  avoid  anachronisms  and 
the  speaking  of  "  Israel  "  in  tlie  feminine): 

When  Israel,  of  the  Lord  beloved. 
Out  of  the  land  of  bondaRe  came, 

Tht'ir  fnther-f'  God  before  them  moved, 
An  awful  guide,  in  smoUe  and  flame. 


By  day,  along  th'  astonished  lands 

The  cloudy  pillar  elided  slow  ; 
By  night,  Arabia's  crimsoned  sands 

Returned  the  flery  column's  glow. 

Then  rose  the  choral  hymn  of  praise. 

And  trump  and  timbrel  answered  keen  ; 
While  Miriam's  music  poured  its  lays, 

With  maid's  and  warrior's  voice  between. 
No  portents  now  our  foes  amaze, 

Forsaken  Israel  wanders  lone ; 
Our  fathers  left  Jehovah's  ways, 

And  He  has  left  us  to  our  own. 

But  present  still,  though  now  unseen. 

When  brightly  shines  the  prosperous  day. 
Be  thoughts  of  Him  a  cloudy  screen 

To  temper  the  deceitful  ray. 
And  oh,  when  droops  on  Israel's  path 

In  shade  and  storm  the  frequent  night. 
Thou  God  long-suffering,  slow  to  wrath. 

Be  still  a  guiding,  cheering  light ! 

Our  harps  we  left  by  Babel's  streams. 

The  tyrant's  ]est,  the  Gentile's  scorn  ; 
No  censer  round  our  altar  beams, 

And  mute  our  timbrel,  trump,  and  horn. 
Yet  God  has  said,  "  The  blood  of  goats. 

The  flesh  of  rams  I  will  not  prize  ; 
A  contrite  heart,  with  humble  thoughts, 

Is  my  accepted  sacrifice." 

The  allusion  to  a  screen  against  prosperity,  how- 
ever, seems  to  us,  altiiough  delicate,  yet  rather  equivo- 
cal. The  smoke  by  day  and  the  flame  b}'  night 
rendered  the  cloud  conspicuous  at  all  hours,  and  at 
the  same  time  formidable  to  foes  and  friendly  to 
allies  as  a  sign  of  the  lambent  fire  within,  a  token  of 
power  and  warmth  no  less  than  of  light.  During 
the  nocturnal  passage  of  the  Rod  Sea  (Exod.  xiv,  20), 
the  pillar  showed  a  bright  side  toward  the  Israelites, 
but  a  dark  one  toward  the  Egyptians ;  aiding  and 
comforting  the  former,  but  impeding  and  threatening 
the  latter.    (See  Psa.  Ixviii,  8;  Ixxvii.  17;  1  Cor.  x.  2.) 

f  Heb.  tehdh,  a  foreign  word,  prob.  signifying  a 
c?i€st,  and  used  only  of  this  vessel  and  ol  the  basket 


THE    THBEE  ARKS.  87 

as  a  depository  of  tlie  divinely-given  tables  of  the  moral  law,'^  in  the  other  as  a  tem- 
porary receptacle  for  such  of  the  animal  tribes  of  the  vicinity  as  could  not  otherwise  be 
readily  reproduced.  The  significant  manner  in  which  an  apostle  alludes  to  the  flood 
(2  Pet.  ii,  5  ;  iii,  6)  seems  to  have  led  the  framers  of  the  bai)tismal  service  in  the 
English  Prayer-Book  to  regard  Noah's  Ark  as  typical  (for  it  is  there  associated  with 
the  passage  of  the  Red  Sea,  as  if  likewise  "  prefiguring  Holy  Baj)tism  ").  Be  that  as 
it  may,  Noah's  ark,  as  being  the  very  first  inhabited  structure  knowm  to  have  been 
planned  by  the  Almighty  Architect,  it  might  be  presumed,  however  different  its  de- 
sign, to  offer  some  points  of  analogy  to  the  Tabernacle  at  least,  and  possibly  to  the 
Ark  under  consideration.     It  is  therefore  worth  our  wkile  to  make  a  brief  comparison. 

(1.)  The  dimensions  of  the  Noachian  edifice  (for  such  it  was  before  l)eing 
launched  by  the  Deluge)  are  given  likewise  in  cubits ;  namely,  300  long,  50  wide  and 
30  high  (about  the  proportions  of  a  large  merchantman  or  steamer  of  the  present  day), 
which  (with  the  exception  of  the  length,  which  in  a  sea-vessel  must  always  be  rela- 
tively greater  than  that  of  a  house — for  the  latter  would  not  stand  securely  if  so  nar- 
row) are  not  greatly  out  of  ratio  with  those  of  the  Tabernacle  walls  (30  x  10  x  10), 
nor  with  those  of  the  Tabernacle  Ark  (2|-  x  1|  x  1|).  The  ark  of  Noah  had  three 
stories,  the  Tabernacle  one  and  a  half,  and  its  Ark  properly  but  one  ;  showing  a 
gradual  reduction  in  this  regard.  As  we  are  not  informed  what  partitions,  if  any, 
were  made  in  the  successive  fioors  of  Noah's  ark,  we  can  not  compare  it  in  this  re- 
spect with  the  Tabernacle  or  its  Ark  ;  but  we  may  presume  that  there  was  a  corre- 
sponding decrease  in  their  number.  Internal  decorations  of  course  are  out  of  the 
question  in  the  case  of  both  the  other  arks.  The  contents,  however,  were  in  a  cer- 
tain sense  germinal  in  all  three  ;  the  first  contained  the  vital  seeds  of  a  new  popula- 
tion for  the  globe,  the  second  the  hero-nucleus  of  a  fresh  nation,  and  the  third  the 
essential  principles  of  all  morality. 

(2.)  It  is  in  the  architectural  style  of  the  three  structures  that  we  would  naturally 
expect  to  find  the  greatest  degree  of  conformity,  as  emanating  from  the  same  Mind ; 
and  here  we  are  not  disappointed.  All  three  were  essentially  a  rectangular  box 
(neglecting  the  tent-roof  of  the  Tabernacle,  which  was  properly  no  part  of  the  w^ooden 
mishkdn  or  "  dwelhng ").  Plain,  indeed,  was  this  form  for  a  ship,  and  not  very 
artistic  perhaps  for  a  house  or  even  for  a  chest ;  yet  it  was  admirably  adapted  in  fact 
to  all  of  these  uses,  the  first  to  be  floated,  the  second  to  be  "  pitched,"  and  the  tliird 
to  be  simply  set  down.  The  roof,  which  we  have  just  laid  out  of  the  account,  pre- 
sents nevertheless  some  very  curious  points  of  resemblance  ;  for  although  flat  of  course 
in  the  case  of  the  Mercy-seat,  it  must  have  been  more  or  less  sloping  in  the  Noachian 
ark,  as  in  the  Tabernacle,  to  carry  off  the  rain.  At  the  eaves  especially  we  find  recur- 
ring an  arrangement  remarkably  similar,  and  yet  characteristically  different,  for  the 
purpose  of  shedding  the  drip  ;  the  bottom  cubit  of  the  roof -material  all  around,  which 


in  which  Moses  was  inclosed  (Exod.  ii,  3,  5),  both  in- 
tended to  float  on  the  water.  It  is  not  a  httle  singu- 
lar that  on  the  Egyptian  monuments  (as  we  have  seen) 


*  Tliat  this  was  the  simple  purpose  of  the  Ark  is 
evident  from  Deut.  x,  1,  2 ;  indeed  from  ver.  3  it  soems 
that  the  Ark  was  prepared  in  advance.    This  was  the 


the  shrine  and  ;i  Jjoat  are  so  often  associated  together.  I  peerless  jewel  of  the  entire  casket  and  treasure-house. 


88 


SYMBOLISM   OF   THE   TABERNACLE. 


in  the  Tabernacle  was  turned  down  over  the  top  of  tlie  walls,  was  here  carried  out  as 
a  cornice  or  projection,  and  left  an  opening  of  that  width  in  the  top  of  the  side  walls, 
for  light  and  v-entilation,  (Gen.  vi,  16).*  In  this  opening  was  set  the  lattice,t  which 
Noah  Urst  opened  to  let  the  raven  and  the  dove  out  and  in  (Gen.  viii,  6),  and  through 
which,  as  it  was  situated  at  the  ceiling  of  the  upper  story,:}:  he  could  see  the  towering 
tops  of  the  surrounding  mountains  (ver.  5).  It  was  only  after  the  return  of  the  dove 
with  a  fresh  olive-leaf  in  her  mouth,  which  assured  him  that  the  ground  was  sufficiently 
dry  to  warrant  him  in  doing  so  (ver.  11),  without  danger  of  sw^amping  his  vessel  in 
some  valley,  that  he  ventured  to  take  off  part  of  the  side  boarding  itself,§  and  then 
for  the  first  time  actually  saio  that  the  ground  was  thoroughly  dry  (ver.  13).  This 
explanation  so  fairly  clears  up  this  difficult  passage,  and  at  the  same  time  so 
corroborates  our  view  of  the  Tabernacle,  that  we  trust  the  reader  will  pardon  ^vhat 
otherwise  might  seem  to  be  unnecessary  digression.     (See  Fig.  37.) 

(3.)  The  ark  of  bulrushes  (i.  e.  papyrus  reeds),  in  which  the  infant  Moses  was 
placed  by  his  mother  (designated  as  we  have  seen  g.bove  by  the  same  word  as  the  ark 
of  Noah),  is  significant  likewise  of  preservation,  and  has  many  other  features  of  simi- 
larity. It  was  a  wicker  box  of  about  the  same  proportions  as  the  average  noticed 
above,  being  shaped  like  a  sarcophagus  or  mummy-case,  coated  too  with  l)itumen 
inside  and  out  (corresponding  to  the  plating  on  the  boards  of  the  Tabernacle  and  the 
Ark  of  the  Covenant),  draped  with  the  babe's  clothing,  and  requiring  for  his  breath- 
ing an  opening  around  the  top  of  the  floating  cradle  of  the  future  law-giver  similar  t ) 
that  of  the  Noachian  ark,  effected  doubtless  by  the  omission  of  some  of  the  longitud- 
inal courses  of  wattles.     (See  Fig.  38.) 

5.  In  the  tables  of  the  Decalogue  deposited  within  the  sacred  Ark  we  at  once 
recognise  the  symbols  of  moral  law,  not  now  for  the  first  time  promulgated — for  the 
sins  against  God  and  the  crimes  against  man  there  prohibited  have  always  been  out- 
lawed by  the  universal  conscience ;  but  yet  it  was  needful  that  these  fundamental 
principles  of  ethics  should  be  formally  re-established  and  authoritatively  published  to 
the  newly  formed  commonwealth  of  Israel.  We  perceive  therefore  that,  while  the 
ten  commandments  are  specifically  Jewish  enactments,  they  are  also  cosmopolitan  and 
perpetual  statutes — "  common  law  "  as  we  now  say  ;  yet  in  the  theological  sense  no 


*  '•  A  window  [Heb.  tsohar,  a  "light,''  used  only  of 
this  object,  and  in  the  dual  of  noon;  a  different  word 
is  employed  in  viii,  6]  shalt  thou  make  to  the  ark, 
and  in  [rather  "  to,"  lit.  ''  toward  "]  a  cubit  shalt  thou 
finish  it  [the  ark,  not  the  window,  as  the  gender 
shows]  above  [rather  "from  the  top  downward,"  lit. 
"  from  as  to  upward,"  the  identical  expression  ap- 
plied to  the  same  space  in  the  Tabernacle  (Kxod. 
xxvi,  14)]."  This  space,  where  tlie  boarding-up  of 
the  sides  was  omitted,  was  protected  from  the  rain 
by  the  over-jutting  caves. 

f  Heb.  chalon  (lit.  a  perforation,  A.  V.  "  window"), 
constantly  used  of  latticed  openings  in  the  side  of 
Oriental  building.s. 


:}:  We  conceive  that  the  middle  story  of  the  ark,  be- 
ing dark  and  chilly,  was  occupied  with  provender 
for  the  animals,  while  the  hold  would  make  an  ex- 
cellent cistern  for  fresh  water  (filled  b}'  the  40  days' 
rain)  necessary  not  only  for  use  during  the  whole 
year's  confinement,  but  also  for  ballast. 

§  Heb.  mikseh,  "covering,"  the  very  word  exclu- 
sively applied  elsewhere  to  the  outside  blanket  of 
fur  on  the  Tabernacle  walls.  Perhaps  the  exact  part 
here  referred  to  was  the  door  in  the  side  of  tl;c  ark 
(of  course  in  the  bottom  story),  which  was  fastened 
on  the  outside  (vi,  16;  vii,  16),  as  was  necessary  in 
order  to  resist  the  pressure  of  water,  which  during 
the  Flood  would  be  very  great. 


NOAWS  ARK. 


89 


90 


SYMBOLISM  OF  THE   TABERNACLE. 


more  a  ground  of  salvation  for  fallen  man — who  has  already  broken,  and  unaided  can 
never  keep  them — than  the  ceremonial  code  of  the  Pentateuch  is.  They  emphasize 
indeed  certain  principles  of  legislation,  notably  monotheism  and  the  Sabbath,  because 
these  had  been — and  alas  still  are — sadly  neglected  ;  but  in  the  main  they  simply  reit- 
erate the  cardinal  rules  of  civihzed  society.  They  are  all  negative  in  substance — as 
was  the  first  command  in  Eden,  and  as  criminal  behests  usually  are ;  and  yet  they  at- 
tach no  specific  penalty,  implying  the  extreme  one  of  ecclesiastical  excision  and  phys- 
ical death.  They  are  personal  in  aj)phcation  ("  thou  shalt "),  and  unmistakable  in  im- 
port. Finally,  as  our  Lord  expounded  them  (Matt,  v,  21,  22,  28),  and  as  the  enhghtened 
Jew  easily  discovered  (Rom.  vii,  7-13),  the  meaning  goes  far  deeper  than  the  letter, 
and  reaches  to  the  spirit  and  intention  of  the  soul  (Heb.  iv,  12). 


Fig.  38.— Probable  Form  of  the  Ark  of  Bulrushes. 

The  typical  character  of  the  stone  tablets  is  finely  brought  out  even  by  Old-Testa- 
ment vt^riters  (Prov.  iii,  3  ;  vii,  3  ;  Jer,  xvii,  1 ;  xxxi,  33),  but  still  more  clearly  by  those 
of  the  New  Testament  (2  Cor.  iii,  3,  7 ;  Heb.  viii,  10 ;  x,  16),  as  contrasting  with  the 
tender  receptivity  of  the  heart ;  and  the  breaking  of  those  prepared  by  Jehovah  him- 
self, as  ominous  of  a  covenant  never  fully  renewed,  is  intimated  in  Moses's  own  pre- 
monitions of  the  frequent  and  final  apostasy  of  his  people  (Deut.  ix,  7-24 ;  xxxi,  16- 
27). 

6.  The  remaining  features  of  the  structure  of  the  Tabernacle  and  its  parapherna- 
lia, such  as  the  variety  in  the  colors  and  arrangement  of  the  drapery,  the  swellings  in 
the  stem  and  arms  of  the  Candelabrum,  the  jewels  and  additions  to  the  pontifical 
robes,  etc.,  although  in  a  degree  useful,  were  chiefly  ornamental ;  and  in  that  light 
they  symbolize  the  element  of  beauty  as  one  of  the  important  constituents  in  this  les- 
son-picture of  Jehovah  to  his  infant  people.  The  aesthetic  is  never  neglected  by  the 
divine  Architect,  nor  was  it  sacrificed  to  utility  in  the  somewhat  severe  style  *  of  the 


*  It  is  proper  to  observe  that  while  the  Tabernacle, 
both  as  a  whole  and  in  its  details,  can  hardly  be 
called  elegant,  as  compared  with  the  Temple  and 
other  gorgeous  specimens  of  architecture,  yet  it  was 
far  from  rude  or  out  of  taste.  Indeed  not  only  emi- 
nent skill,  but  also  great  magnificence  was  displayed 
in  its  design  and  decorations,  and  the  materials  were 
often  of  the  most  costly  character.     Tlic  ricii  sluffs, 


precious  metals  and  valuable  gems  lavished  upon  it 
were  part  of  the  "spoil"  demanded  by  the  Israelites  as 
a  just  return  from  the  Egyptians  for  long  years  of 
hard  servitude  (Exod.  xii,  35,  36).  The  means  of 
keeping  up  the  sacred  services,  such  as  flour,  oil,  etc., 
argue  some  communication  with  their  settled  ncigli- 
bors  during  the  long  sojourn  in  the  Desert.  Egypt 
is  to  tliis  da}' the  source  of  merchandise  for  the  Arabs 


Fio.  '6'J. — TJic  Acacia  ,Sci/al  (Ircu,  UraiU'li,  Howct,  iiikI  poili.     iFrmu  a  iiliuluyriipli  dl'  ;i  vuiy  tine  spi'cinioii  in 

Wild}'  Fuiniii,  near  Mount  Sinai.)  Tofnce  p,  91. 


ACACIA    WOOD. 


91 


Tabernacle,  anv  more  tlian  it  is  in  natnre,  where  birds  and  flowers  and  graceful  forms 
mingle  in  delightful  harmony  with  the  athletic  forces  and  the  rngged  aspects  of 
earnest  existence.  True  science  and  chaste  art  are  the  legitimate  twin  offspring  of 
genuine  piety. 

TV.  Having  thus  nearly  exhausted  the  external  aspects  of  the  Tabernacle  equip- 
ments, we  may  properly  inquire  whether  the  various  materials  used  in  its  constitution 
and  operation  may  not  likewise  have  some  symbolical  meaning.  They  are,  as  \ye  have 
seen,  drawn  from  all  three  kingdoms  of  nature,  the  mineral,  the  vegetable  and  the 
animal.     We  will  take  them  up  as  nearly  as  may  be  in  the  order  of  tlieir  occurrence. 

1.  The  largest  in  quantity  of  these  materials,  and  that  most  used  in  dwellings, 
especially  those  intended  for  transportation  like  this,  because  furnishing  the  greatest 
strength  for  the  least  weight,  is  wood,  which  in  this  instance  was  taken  from  the 
acacia-tree,  not  merely  because  this  was  the  most — almost  the  only  one — accessible  in 
sufiicient  quantities,  nor  yet  simply  because  it  was  firm  and  durable,  but — as  we  ap- 
prehend— also  because  by  reason  of  its  terrific  "  touch-me-not "  thorns  that  tree  was  a 
fit  emblem  of  the  unapproachable  majesty  of  Jehovah,  and  of  all  that  pertained  to 
him.*     This  was  the  symbolism  likewise  in  the  case  of  the  burning  bush  that  Moses 


there.  The  mines  of  the  Sinaitic  peninsula  were  a 
noted  penal  station  of  the  ancient  Egyptians,  and 
regular  trains  of  supplies  were  kept  up  for  the  mili- 
tary guards  and  convicts  sent  thither.  These  men 
were  readily  accessible  to  the  Israelites,  without  dan- 
ger of  interference  from  the  home  government,  now 
thoroughly  reconciled  to  their  emigration.  Moses 
himself  had  the  benefit  of  a  forty  years'  experience 
as  a  refugee  in  this  very  region.  The  beaten  caravan 
route  from  Damascus  (Gen.  xxxvii,  25)  ran  along  the 
Philistine  shore  (Exod.  xiii,  17).  The  cross-line  of 
pilgrimage  to  Mecca  is  comparatively  modern,  and 
does  not  touch  Mt.  Sinai,  which,  however,  appears  to 
have  been  an  ancient  shrine  of  religious  resort  (Kxod. 
iii,  1),  as  the  inscribed  rocks  of  its  neighborhood 
seem  to  show.  Its  native  population  must  always 
have  been  sparse  and  nomadic. 

*TIie  tree  is  well  described  by  Tristram  {Natural 
History  of  the  Bible,  p.  391-2):  "There  can  be  no 
question  as  to  the  identity  of  the  shitidh  with  the 
acacia,  tiie  only  timber  tree  of  any  size  in  the  Arabian 
desert.  The  species  of  acacia  there  found  is  the 
acacia  seyal.  a  gnarled  and  thorny  tree,  somewhat 
like  a  solitary  hawthorn  in  its  habit  and  manner  of 
growth,  but  much  larger.  It  flourishes  in  the  driest 
situations,  and  is  scattered  more  or  less  numerously 
over  the  whole  of  the  Sinaitic  peninsula.  The  timber 
is  very  liardand  close  grained,  of  a  fine  orange  brown 
color,  with  a  darker  heart,  and  admirably  adapted  for 
fine  cabinet  work.  Its  leaves  are  small  and  pinnate,  and 
in  spring  it  is  covered  with  its  round  tufts  of  yellow 
blossom,  which  grow  iu  clusters  round  the  branches, 


like  little  balls  of  fibre,  and  have  gained  for  it  its  po- 
etical epithet  of  the  'yellow-haired  acacia.'  It  be- 
longs to  the  natural  order  leguminosa,  and  its  seed 
is  a  pod  like  that  of  the  laburnum. 

"  But  it  is  best  known  for  its  commercial  value  as 
yielding  the  gum  arable  of  trade  and  medicine,  which 
is  exported  in  great  quantities  from  the  Red  Sea. 
The  gum  exudes  from  the  tree  spontaneously,  as  I 
have  oflen  observed  in  hot  weather,  but  is  also  ob- 
tained more  systematically  by  making  incisions  in  the 
bark;  and  the  Arabs  not  only  collect  it  for  sale,  but 
for  food  in  times  of  scarcity.  They  also  say  that  it 
allays  thirst.  The  bark,  which  is  a  powerful  astringent, 
is  used  by  the  Bedawin  for  tanning  yellow  leather, 
and  the  camels  are  fed  on  its  thorny  foliage. 

"Tlie  burning  bush  of  Moses  (Exod.  iii,  2),  called 
seneh  in  Hebrew,  was  no  doubt  an  acacia,  the 
Egyptian  name  of  which  is  the  equivalent,  swn?,  while 
the  Arabic  is  set/al.  The  species  is  the  acacia  nil- 
otica,  found  also  in  the  desert,  and  rather  smaller 
than  the  true  seyal. 

"  There  are  several  other  species  of  acacia  found 
in  Palestine,  but  all  similar  in  habit  and  appearance  ; 
as  the  acacia  farnesiana  on  the  coast,  the  a.  serissa 
in  some  of  the  wadies,  and  a.  lortilii  in  some  of  the 
southern  wadies.  These  must  not  be  confounded 
with  the  tree  commonly  called  acacia  in  England, 
which  is  an  American  plant  of  a  different  genus,  witli 
white  papilionaceous  blossoms — the  robinta  pseudo- 
acacia."  The  Heb.  name  for  the  tree  is  shittah  (fern, 
sing.),  while  for  the  wood  it  is  shittim  (masc.  plur., 
i.  e.  the  sticks).     (See  Fig.  39.) 


92  SYMBOLISM   OF   THE    TABERNACLE. 

saw  in  tlie  same  vicinity,  wliicli  be  was  forbidden  to  approacli  (Exod.  iii,  5).  May 
not  tbe  tnanna — tbat  article  of  food  so  strange  to  tbe  Hebrews  tliat  tbey  bad  no  name 
for  it  (Exod.  xvi,  15),  *  but  wbicb  we  know  was  a  type  of  Cbrist  as  tbe  Bread  of 
Life  (Jobn  vi,  31-35),  may  not  tbis  dew-bke  substance  bave  been  a  preternatural 
exudation  from  tbis  very  tree  ? — as  tbe  strikingly  similar  and  bigbly  nutritive  "  gum 
arabic  "  of  commerce  is  tbe  natural  one  from  at  least  one  species  of  tbe  same  genus 
(witb  wbicb  tbey  must  bave  been  well  acquainted  in  Egypt). 

Tbe  wood  was  employed  in  tbe  Tabernacle  cbiefly  for  overlaying  witb  metal,  and 
was  tbus  in  a  double  sense  a  symbol  of  support,  as  it  lield  up — wbetber  naked  or  so 
covered — tbe  textile  portions  of  tbe  tent-like  structure.  So  tbe  Israelites  tbemselves 
— and  all  tbeir  fellow-creatures,  but  more  especially  saints — are  upbeld  naturally  as 
well  as  spiritually — by  tbat  tree  of  life,  invisible  since  Eden,  wbicb  emblematized 
tbe  alimentive  and  curative  powxr  of  God  (Rev.  xxi,  2). 

2.  First  mentioned  among  tbe  metallic  substances  of  tbe  Tabernacle  was  copper, 
employed  most  copiously,  not,  as  Ave  apprebend  again,  merely  on  account  of  its 
comparative  cbeapness,  but  ratber  for  its  deep  color,  and  especially  because  it  is  capa- 
ble (by  some  art  now  lost)  of  being  bardened  like  steel,  f  and  tberefore  tbe  symbol 
of  durability. 

3.  Next  in  order  of  dignity  among  metals,  but  used  witb  mucli  liberty  in  the 
Tabernacle,  was  silver,  tbe  obvious  symbol  of  clearness,  by  its  wliite  lustre.  Its  em- 
ployment for  tbe  trumpets  is  appropriate  for  tbe  excellent  tone  tbus  produced,  sym- 
bolical of  tbe  Gospel  message  (Ezek.  xxxiii,  3 ;  1  Cor.  xiv,  8 ;  Rev.  viii,  6 ;  xiv,  6). 

4.  Tbe  most  costly  metal,  gold,  was  profusely  employed  about  tbe  Tabernacle, 
but  wholly  for  inside  w^ork ;  and  is  a  universal  standard,  and  tberefore  a  symbol  of 
value. 

5.  Returning  to  tbe  vegetable  kingdom  for  tbe  accessories  of  tbe  Tabernacle 
structure  and  outfit,  we  find  Knen,  or  tbe  product  of  tbe  flax-plant,  most  prominent 
for  tbe  hangings  and  clothing.     It  is  a  symbol  of  cleanliness,  which,  as  tbe  old  prov- 


*Heb.  man  Im,  What  (is)  it?  A.  V.  incorrectly, 
"It  is  manna."  Mich.  Liebentantz,  in  his  little  mon- 
ograph on  this  subject  {De  Manna  Israelitarum,  Wit- 
tenberg, 1667,  4to)  nearly  exhausted  the  sources 
of  information  (chiefly  of  a  philological  character) 
accessible  in  his  day.  The  copy  in  our  possession 
lias  MS.  notes  on  the  margin,  apparently  by  the 
author  liimself.  Tlie  true  manna  of  the  Desert  is 
probably  to  be  substantially  identified,  not  with  the 
medicinal  substance  current  under  that  name  among 
druggists,  which  is  a  saccharine  cathartic  exuding 
from  certain  species  of  the  ash-tree,  but  with  the 
(jimi  arabic  of  commerce,  tons  of  which  the  writer 
saw  piled  in  sacks  on  the  banks  of  the  Nile  at  Aswan 
awaiting  shipment  down  the  river.  There  are  sev- 
eral other  Oriental  trees  which  yield  sweetish  prod- 
ucts  often    called    manna,    especially    the    tur/a    or 


tamarisk,  distillations  from  wliicli  are  collected  in 
small  quantities  at  Sinai,  bui  form  a  syrup,  not  at  all 
answering  the  Biblical  description,  which  moreover 
includes  some  miraculous  features,  especially  the 
double  quantity  and  the  keeping  quality  on  Friday, 
while  none  fell  on  the  Sabbath. 

f  Homer  speaks  {Odysxaj,  ix,  39;  but  some  under- 
stand iro7i)  of  tempering  copper  for  tools,  and  the 
Egyptians  are  thought  (by  Wilkinson.  Anc.  Egyptians, 
ii,  158)  to  have  cut  even  the  flinty  Syenitic  granite 
with  it.  They  had  extensive  copper  mines  in  the 
desert  of  Sinai,  the  refuse  and  pits  of  which  are 
abundantly  evident  to  tiiis  day  at  Surabet  el-Kliadim, 
They  do  not  appear  to  have  been  acquainted  wiih 
iron,  and  this  metal  accordingly  docs  not  find  a  place 
among  the  materials  of  the  Tabernacle ;  nor  would  it 
have  been  suitable,  from  its  liability  to  rust. 


THE   VARIOUS  MATERIALS.  93 

erb  lias  it,  is  "next  to  godliness,"  and  was  a  point  of  great  concern  in  the  sacred 
paraphernalia. 

6.  Next  in  importance  for  similar  use  was  wool  of  sheep,  a  ceremonially  clean 
animal,  evidently  a  symbol  of  warmth. 

7.  For  canvas  alone  was  the  goats'-hair  (another  "  clean  "  animal)  employed, 
which  here  seems  to  be  a  symbol  of  compactness,  as  the  roof-covering  required  that 
quality  in  an  eminent  degree. 

8.  The  unshorn  rams'-skins,  tinted  for  beauty,  are  a  symbol  of  protection  fi-om 
weather. 

9.  The  fur  blankets  were  a  symbol  of  softness.  If  of  goats  or  antelopes,  they 
likewise  were  from  a  "  clean  "  animal.  No  further  substance  from  the  animal  king- 
dom appears,  except  perhaps  silk  as  an  alternate  for  gold,  and  the  red  or  crimson, 
likewise  from  a  worm  ;  finally  the  two  purples,  from  sea-shells. 

lU.  The  rope,  probably  also  of  flaxen  thread,  used  as  stay-cord,  may  be  taken  to 
represent  strength,  as  linen  twine  is  the  least  liable  to  break  of  any. 

11.  Finally  in  this  list  of  substances  we  set  down,  what  are  perhaps  the  most 
expensive  of  all  for  their  size,  the  gems  or  precious  stones,  which,  as  they  were 
to  receive  the  engraving,  may  be  regarded  as  a  symbol  of  hardness. 

Y.  Supplementary  to  the  foregoing  list,  among  elements  employed  in  worshi}), 
we  find  water,  as  the  symbol  of  regeneration ;  (perpetual)  fire,  as  representing 
(quenchless)  zeal ;  oil,  as  emblematic  of  richness ;  wine,  of  cheerfulness ;  salt,  of 
wholesomeness  ;  flesh,  of  substance  ;  fat,  of  choice  (as  being  the  best  part)  ;  blood,  of 
life ;  meal,  of  vigor ;  and  spice,  of  acceptability.  Most  of  these  are  so  frequent  in 
the  metaphors  of  the  Bible  that  we  need  not  dwell  upon  them  in  detail. 

YI.  A  more  noteworthy  feature  of  the  arrangement  of  the  various  parts  of  the 
Tabernacle,  and  one  which  we  might  have  considered  under  the  head  of  its  relative 
proportions,  but  which  we  preferred  to  scrutinize  a  little  more  closely  by  itself,  is  the 
gradation  of  comparative  or  official  sanctity  evinced  in  the  successive  apartments  and 
pieces  of  furniture. 

In  a  general  way  it  is  obvious  that  the  entire  mansion  and  precincts  are  set  forth 
as  the  residence  of  Jehovah  in  the  style  of  an  Oriental  king,  and  that  this  was  his 
special  home  among  his  chosen  people.  The  successive  door-screens  kept  out  all  in- 
truders, and  the  furniture  was  such  as  suited  his  royal  state  and  convenience.  In  the 
court-yard  were  performed  the  culinary  offices  of  the  establishment,  the  food  was 
cooked  (as  it  were)  on  the  Brazen  Altar,  and  the  washing  was  done  at  the  Laver.  The 
Holy  Place  represented  the  reception-room,  where  official  business  was  transacted  ;  and 
here  the  night-long  lamp  denoted  the  ceaseless  vigilance  and  activity  of  the  Heavenly 
King.  The  Table  of  Show-bread  was  his  board,  furnished  with  the  three  prin- 
cipal articles  of  Oriental  subsistence,  bread,  oil  and  wine ;  and  the  Altar  of  Incense 
was  the  place  appointed  for  the  reception  of  homage  and  petitions  from  his  subjects. 
The  interior  apartment  was  his  secret  chamber  for  his  own  private  counsels  and 
retirement. 

1.  After  leaving  the  outside  woi-ld  of  purely  secular  interests,  we  have  first  the 


94 


SYMBOLISM  OF  THE   TABERNACLE. 


large  court  accessible  to  all  priests  and  Levites,  but  (except  for  individual  privilege) 
to  none  others.*  This  inclosure  therefore  symbolizes  a  sacred  ministry  in  more  than 
the  iisual  sense  of  God's  people.  Within  this  again  we  find  the  Laver,  which  is  em- 
blematic of  true  piety  (such  as  can  only  flow  from  a  renewed  heart,  Tit.  iii,  5),  and  is 
placed  there  as  an  indispensable  prerequisite  to  any  acceptable  divine  service,  especially 
of  the  priestly  representatives  of  the  people  (Heb.  x,  22).  The  Great  Altar  is  a  figure  of 
the  personal  consecration  which  they  are  to  make  of  their  whole  selves  to  holy  duties. 

2.  In  the  next  remove  from  secular  life,  the  Holy  Place,  to  which  no  Levite  was 
ordinarily  admitted,  we  see  the  exclusive  tokens  of  a  functional  priesthood,  M'hich 
was  necessary  in  the  cumbrous  and  technical  routine  of  sacrificial  offerings,  and  was 
accordingly  regarded  as  the  only  feasible  medium  of  approach  to  the  divine  Majesty. 
Under  the  Gospel  this  whole  system  of  human  intervention  is  abolished,  with  the 
ritualistic  system  upon  which  it  was  founded,  and  every  believer,  whether  old  or 
young,  male  or  female,  becomes  a  king  and  a  priest  (for  himself  or  herself  only,  how- 
ever) before  God  (1  Pet.  ii,  5,  9 ;  Rev,  i,  6,  etc.)  The  Candelabrum  represents  the 
intelligence  with  which  such  service  must  be  undertaken,  the  Table  of  Show-bread 
(lit.  "  of  the  [divine]  presence  ")  the  conscientiousness  with  which  they  must  be  dis- 
charged, and  the  Altar  of  Incense  the  prayerfulness  with  which  they  must  be 
accompanied.  Nor  let  it  be  supposed  that  these  spiritual  requirements  were  not 
understood  by  devout  worshippers,  whether  clerical  or  laical,  among  the  Hebrews 
(Luke  i,  10). 

3.  Withdrawing  now  to  the  inmost  chamber,  the  Most  Holy  Place,  which  was 
the  immediate  abode  of  Jehovah,  and  debarred  to  all  but  the  incumbent  of  the  high- 
priesthood,  we  find  naught  therein  save  the  Ark  and  its  Mercy-seat,  to  body  forth  the 
invisible  deity ;  the  one  by  the  writings  deposited  therein,  as  an  explicit  record  of 
moral  principles ;  and  the  other  by  the  figures  standing  upon  it,  as  a  conventional 
type  of  natural  laws.  The  high-priest  himself  is  the  representative  of  his  entire 
order,  and  through  it  of  the  laity ;  but  since  the  one  great  Day  of  Atonement  has 
passed,  in  which  Jesus  as  the  Christian's  sole  high-priest  has  entered  into  the  actual 
and  immediate  presence  of  the  celestial  Glory,  there  is  no  need  or  room  for  any  other 
mediator  between  the  soul  and  God  (Heb.  ix,  11, 12,  24).  The  Yail  is  a  type  of  his 
flesh  (Heb.  x,  20),  rent  at  the  crucifixion  (Matt,  xxvii,  51),  so  that  all  saints  may 
now  enter  the  Holiest  boldly  (Heb.  x,  19),  clad  in  the  regalia  of  Christ's  own  right- 
eousness (Rev.  xix,  8), 

VII.  We  conclude  this  branch  of  our  subject,  and  with  it  our  whole  theme,  by 
remarking  that  the  crowning  glory  of  the  Tabernacle  and  its  service  lay — and  was 
universally  understood  as  lying,  in  the  gradual  scheme  of  divine  revelation  couched 
under  the  three  modes  of  divine  manifestation,  which  we  have  been  considering.  Let 
us  dwell  a  little  longer  upon  them  in  detail. 


*  Tlie  phrase,  "door  of  the  tent"  [not  "taber- 
nacle]", so  often  used  of  the  rendezvous  of  the  people 
[i.  e.  of  their  representative  heads]  (Lev.  viii,  3,  4,  etc.; 
but  not  when  spoken  of  the  priests),  was  merely  out- 


side the  front  screen  of  the  court  door-way,  for  it  is  the 
same  word  {pethach,  lit.  an  opening)  that  is  likewise 
applied  to  that  of  the  building'  itself,  but  never  to  the 
inmost  Vail. 


DIVINE   COMMUNICA  TIONS. 


95 


1.  The  Shekinali*  was  intended  merely  to  mark  the  divine  abode  and  presence 
in  some  pliysical  and  visible  manner,  and  conveyed  no  intimation  of  the  divine  pur- 
230ses  beyond  what  that  simple  fact  implied.  It  manifested  itself  in  two  phases,  each 
characteristic,  and  having  two  seemingly  opposite  traits :  a  brilliancy  (significant  of 
disclosure)  and  a  smoke  (indicative  of  concealment) ;  in  other  words,  the  revelation 
was  yet  but  partial. 

(1.)  In  the  "  pillar  of  a  cloud  by  day  and  of  fire  by  night,"  tliis  contrast  was  by 
alternation ;  the  exhibit,  however,  was  constant  in  one  phase  or  the  other.  The 
object  here  was  simply  guidance  in  the  journey,  and  therefore  it  was  an  index  of  the 
locality  where  Jehovah  preferred  his  tent  to  be  pitched,  and  when  he  wished  it  to  be 
removed  to  some  other  spot.  Hence  it  began  with  the  first  march,  and  ceased  when 
the  Tabernacle  reached  its  last  resting-place.  At  the  passage  of  the  Red  Sea,  it 
changed  its  position  from  the  head  of  the  marching  column  to  the  rear,  in  order  to 
interpose  a  barrier  between  the  Israelites  and  their  pursuers  (Exod.  xiv,  19,  20,  24) ; 
during  the  giving  of  the  Law,  it  stood  upon  the  summit  of  Mt.  Sinai  (Exod.  xix, 
9,  16-20  ;  XX,  18-21 ;  xxiv,  15-18),  whence  it  descended  to  the  tent  temporarily  occu- 
pied as  an  office  by  Moses  (Exod.  xxxiii,  9,  10),  returning  to  the  summit  of  the 
mountain  during  the  second  interview  there  (Exod.  xxxiv,  5) ;  and  on  the  com- 
pletion of  the  Tabernacle  proper  it  took  up  its  permanent  station  above  the 
iDuilding,  removing  only  during  the  march  (Exod.  xl,  34r-38).  It  is  therefore  the 
emblem  of  divine  revelation  in  its  lowest  or  general  aspect  of  social  direction  in 
the  secular  or  semi-ethical  crises  of  human  affairs.  The  ordinary  hazy  hue  may  be 
compared  to  the  quiet  approval  of  heaven  upon  national  or  personal  conduct  when 
right ;  and  the  flashes  of  lightning,  which  at  times  frightened  beholders,  may  be  the 
vindictive  warnings  of  Providence  against  wrong-doing.     (See  also  pp.  10,  86.) 

(2.)  The  occasional  glow  over  the  Mercy-seat  was  a  token  of  a  special  condescension 
of  Jehovah,  less  public,  but  still  in  view  of  some  national  or  ecclesiastical  act  of 
devotion  ;  and  is  an  emblem  of  the  grace  that  prompts  and  rewards  such  an  expression 
of  religious  quickening.  Forlorn  indeed  is  that  state  or  church  or  individual  of  whose 
conscious  centre  it  need  be  inquired,  "  Where  [is  the  divine]  glory  ? "  (1  Sam.  iv,  21.) 

2.  A  more  specific  form  of  divine  communication  by  the  Ahnighty  respecting 
the  secrets  of  his  administration  is  found  in  the  mysterious  Urim  and  Thummim, 
which,  however  manipulated,  were  resorted  to  only  on  special  emergencies,  chiefly 
public,  but  yet  having  a  private  bearing.  They  seem  to  correspond  to  the  monitions 
of  conscience  in  the  natural  heart,  and  to  those  of  the  Holy  Spirit  upon  the  renewed 
one — the  two  related  like  the  eye  and  light  to  each  other ;  as  they  involved  quite 
distinctly  the  subjectivity  of  the  recipient  (high-priest),  who  acted  as  a  medium. 


*Late  Heb.  or  Cliald.  Shekinah,  lit.  a  residence,  tlie 
term  invented  (not  Biblical)  to  describe  wbat  in  the 
Bible  is  called  only  "  the  glory  of  Jehovah."  It  is 
spoken  of  as  habitually  "appearing"  in  public  view 
on  memorable  occasions  of  divine  intervention, 
especially  in  connection  with  the  Tabernacle  and 
other  scenes  in  the  Desert,  and  also  at  the  dedication 


of  Solomon's  Temple.  It  is  distinct  from  the  special 
theophanies  vouclisafed  to  the  patriarchs  and  propliets 
of  Old  and  New  Testament  times,  as  tiie  latter  were 
personal,  and  the  other  popular;  these  exhibited  a 
bodily  form,  more  or  less  distinctly  human,  while  that 
was  merely  a  light.  In  the  Transfiguration  of  our 
Saviour  the  two  aspects  were  blended  and  fulfilled. 


96 


SYMBOLISM  OF   THE   TABERNACLE. 


3.  Finally  we  have  in  the  Decalogue,  treasured  in  the  archives  of  the  sacred  Ark, 
the  clearest  and  fullest  code  of  ethics  ever  divulged  to  humanity  at  large,  and  one 
which  all  later  legislation  or  revelation,  and  all  modern  ingenuity  or  science,  have  not 
materially  improved  nor  successfully  impeached.  Many  illustrative  applications  and 
enforcements  have  been  added,  but  the  moral  law  as  expressed  in  those  ten  command- 
ments stands  unrivalled  and  unrepealed  in  every  dispensation  and  among  all  save  bar- 
barous people.  Few  are  the  evils  of  heart  or  life  which  their  strict  observance 
according  to  their  true  intent  and  spirit  would  not  prevent  or  relieve. 

Our  difficult  and  somewhat  venturesome  task  is  now  accomplished  in  as  brief 
space  as  any  one  could  reasonably  demand.  We  think  we  have  made  out  our  case 
without  any  special  pleading,  and  have  therefore  a  right  to  subscribe,  Q.  E.  D.* 


*To  borrow  an  illustration  from  a  science  geDerally 
regarded  as  furnishing  tlie  most  oommnnding  and 
irrefragable  kind  of  proof,  we  may  say  that,  as  the 
coincidence  of  two  arcs,  figures  or  planes,  in  three 
points,  especially  if  angular,  is  an  absolute  mark  of 
equality  or  identity  throughout,  so  tlie  correspond- 
ence in  our  scheme  of  the  Tabernacle  with  its  Script- 
ural description  in  the  three  essential  elements  of 
metric  outline,  utilitarian  adaptation,  and  dignified 
significance,  is  a  conclusive  attestation  that  the  value 
of  the  hitlierto  unknown  quantities  has  been  truly 
ascertained.  In  order  to  eliminate  any  suspicion  that 
even  such  an  equation  is  accidental,  we  may  further 
point  to  the  fact  that  each  of  these  three  confirma- 
tions is  itself  triplicate  or  even  compoundly  so :  the 
numerical  statements  or  implications  as  to  the  ground- 
plan,  tlie  elevations,  and  tlic  roof  or  wall  coverings 
respectively,  however  separately  and  independently 
given  or  deduced,  precisely  tally  in  dimension ;  the 
mechanical  adjustment  of  the  various  parts,  whether 
expressed — sometimes  in  full,  sometimes  laconically, 
sometimes  merely  hinted, — or  understood,  is  at  once 
systematic,  simple  and  efficient;  tlie  ideal  import  of 
the  whole, — from  the  Levitical  court  (with  its  roast- 
ing flesh),  through  the  priestly  fane  (with  its  aro- 
matic fumes),  into  the  pontifical  shrine  ("with  its 
celestial  glow), — by  the  physical  elements  (drawn 
from  all  the  realms  of  nature),  the  corporeal  organisms 
(animal  victim,  human  agent,  or  cherubic  phantasm), 
and  the  conventional  tokens  (perpetual  fire  in  the 
outer  court,  continual  light  in  the  Holy  Place,  and 
constant  shade  in  the  Most  Holy), — in  the  liturgical 
apparatus  (whether  sacrificial  fixtures,  or  costly  im- 
plements, or  gorgeous  paraphernalia), — is  admirablj-^ 
progressive,    eminently    instructive,    and    sublimely 


decorous.  Nor  is  a  single  feature  inconsistent,  im- 
necessary  or  trivial  in  the  entire  category  of  details. 
A  theory  that  so  fully  and  fairlj'  unites  all  the  facts 
and  principles  must  be  sound;  and  in  the  nature  of 
the  case  there  can  be  no  more  convincing  argument. 
The  sacred  record  is  the  onl}'  testimony,  its  careful 
interpretation  the  best  jurist,  and  common  sense  the 
liighest  tribunal.  The  ultimate  verdict  we  are  content 
to  abide.  In  conclusion  of  this  already  extended 
note,  which  may  seem  to  some  of  our  readers  to  savor 
of  overweening  confidence,  if  not  of  consummate  ego- 
tism, it  is  proper  to  add  that  we  are  well  aware  of 
the  degree  of  assurance  with  which  many  of  our  pre- 
decessors on  this  subject  have  put  forth  their  schemes 
of  adjustment ;  but  we  are  sure  that  a  number  of 
them  at  least  must  have  had  secret  misgivings  of 
their  sufficiency,  although  few  have  had  tlie  candor 
to  avow  (as  Brown  frankly  does,  p.  43 ; — he  pro- 
ceeds, it  should  be  borne  in  mind,  on  the  flat-roof 
theory)  their  sense  of  inability  to  meet  the  require- 
ments of  the  case.  We  have  the  hardihood  to  assert, 
and  we  are  conscious  of  no  vanity  in  doing  so,  that 
our  only  apprehension  in  the  matter  is  lest  our  read- 
ers may  ctirsoril}'  pass  our  explanations  and  reasons 
by,  as  ingenious  and  possibly  plausible  speculations, 
and  may  thus  remain  unconvinced  for  lack  of  real 
and  thorough  examination.  We  have  no  fear  of 
their  final  assent  (except  of  course  that  of  the  person- 
ally prejudiced,  and  especially  of  those  already  pub- 
licly committed  to  a  different  opinion),  if  they  will 
only  take  the  pains  to  verify  our  positions  by  a 
careful  comparison  with  the  Scriptural  statements 
and  the  mechanical  and  artistic  demands  of  the 
case.  To  tliis  the  theme,  if  not  the  book,  is  fairly 
entitled. 


GENERAL  INDEX. 


N.B.— Tbe  initials  of  authors  referred  to  are  given  within  parenthesis  marks  Immediately  after  their  principal  name. 
Foreign  words  in  the  captions  are  set  in  italics.  The  letter  ?i  attached  to  the  number  of  a  page  indicates  a 
foot-note,  and  c  denotes  a  wood-cut. 

Page. 

Balir  (K.  W.  F.),  "Symbol,  d.  M.  Ciiltus  " 4 

specially  cited uTl 

Bars,  use  of 18,  25,  41,  55 


P.ige. 

Aaron's  rod  of  Almonds 58 

Acacia  Seyal  described «91,  c9l 

as  a  sj'mbol 91 

',  use  of 13,  17,  21,  25,  41,  44 

^ICsthetics  of  Divine  Architect w90 

"  Agate  "  explained 68 

Aholiab.  assistant  architect 9 

^Al  interpreted w28 

Almonds,  Aaron's  rod  of 58 

"  Almonds,  like  "  explained 4(j 

Altar  of  Burnt-offering  described 17 

—  ,  position  of 18 

—  as  a  symbol 93,  94 

Altar  of  Incense  described 44 

,  its  position 44,  n48 

as  a  .sji-mbol 93,  94 

"  Amethyst  "  explained 68 

Angels  not  cherubim w83 

not  winged nSZ 


Ankle  and  Knob  compared c25 

Ante-Sinaitic  Tabernacle c33 

Antelope.     (See  Tachash.) 

Antilope  barbatus n1€ 

Apartments  symbolical 93,  w96 

Arch  of  Titus  at  Rome 4,  c4 

Argaman  a  shell-fish ?il 6 

Ark  of  bulrushe.s 88,  c90 

the  Covenant  described 54 

,  its  form 55 

,  —  position 84 

,  —  symbolism n87 

among  the  Philistines wlO 

said  to  have  been  hidden  by 

Jeremiah 11 

Ark  of  Noah 87,  r89 

Ashes  of  Great  Altar ?il 8 

Atonement,  hieroL'lypliic  of ?i80 

Attitude  of  cherubim 84 

Atwater  (E.  E.),  "  The  Tabernacle  " 7 

specially  cited w72,  «78 

Bad,  unbleached  linen ?il5 

"  Badger"  skins,  where  placed.  (See  Tachash).  .     25 


'•  Basins  "  (of  altar)  explained IS 

"  Beaten  work  "  explained 7i44 

"  Beauty  of  holiness  "  exphiir.ed Gl 

Btdawin  Sheik's  dress c61 

Bede,  the  Venerable,  cited nil 

Bellermann  (J.  J.),  "  Die  Urim  "   6 

Bells  on  high-priest's  robe 65 

Benesch  (A.)  cited n86 

Bernard  of  Clugiiy  cited n2 

"  Beryl  "  explained ?i68 

Bezaleel,  tlie  architect , 9 

"  Bible  Commentary  "  cited ?i75,  7i86 

Bitumen  for  the  arks 88 

Black  as  a  symbol 77 

Blood  as  a  symbol «79,  93 

•'  Blue  "  as  a  symbol 78 

,   a  violet.     (See  Violet.) 16 

"Boards"  of  Altar nl7 

—  Tabernacle 21 

Bold  (S.),  "  De  Divisione  Decalogi  " n59 

"  Bonnet  "  was  a  skull-cap.     (See  Head-dress.).  64 

"  Border  "  (of  cphod)  explained 66 

(of  table)  explained 41 

"  Bowls  "  (on  candelabrum)  explained 46,  c47 

(of  table)  explained 43 

Brass,  anciently  unknown.     (See  Copper.) 13 

"  Brazen  "  Altar  described 17 

Braiin  (J.),  "  Vestitus  Sacerdotum  " 5 

Breastplate  of  high-priest  described 67 

"  Breeclies  "  were  drawers.     (See  Drawers.).  ...  62 

"  Broidcred  Coat  "  explained ?i64 

Bronze,  use  of nl9 

Broom  (W.  F.),  "  The  Tabernacle  " 8 

Brown  (W.),  "  Tlie  Tabernacle  " 7 

—    specially  cited n22,  n96 

Bynajus  (A.),  "  De  Calccis  Hob." 5 

Galov  (A.),  "  De  Urim  " 5 

Candelabra,  ten  in  Solomon's  Temple 10 

Candelabrum  on  arch  of  Titus 45 


98 


GENERAL   INDEX. 


l':ige. 

Candelabrum,  concentric  arrangement  of c45 

,  golden,  described 44 

as  a  symbol 93,  94 

"  Candlestick."    (See  Candelabrum.) 

Caravan  routes  across  the  desert w91 

"  Carbuncle  "  explained w68 

Censers  described n\9> 

Chabar  interpreted n'll 

Cliange  of  high-priest's  dress nil 

•'  Cliapiters  "  (of  pillars)  were  caps 15 

C/iashshuk  interpreted ral  5 

Chasuble  of  Roman  Catholic  priests 66 

Clierubim  in  general 36,  n38 

,  their  form 55,  c56 

,  number nM 

, occurrence 36,  55,  56 

, posture 57 

, symbolism 82,  n83 

not  repulsive n83 

CJioshen  interpreted n67 

Circle  as  a  symbol 81 

Clant  (A.),  "  De  Labro  Tabernaculi." 5 

Clemens  (H.  G.),  '•  De  Labro  Aeneo  " 5 

Cloud  of  Fire.     (See  Pillar.) m86 

"  Coat "  was  a  tunic.     (See  Shirt.) 63 

Coccits  cacti  a  Mexican  product wl6 

ilicis  described wl 6 

Cochineal  a  modern  color ml  6 

Color,  importance  of 76 

,  nature  of nl6 

,  sj-^mbolism  of wl  6,  76 

Colored  stripes  in  curtains n53,  nl8 

Colors  of  curtains 16,  36,  c37,  75,  n78 

,  order  of nl8  n80 

Commandments,  distribution  of w58 

,  negative 90 

"Compass"  of  the  Altar  explained n\S 

Conder  (Lieut.  C.  R.)  cited 10 

Conradi,  "  Tabernaculi  Structura  " 5 

Copper  as  a  symbol 92 

tempered n92 

,  use  of 13,  14,  17,  19,  33,  k92 

Corner  boards  described 22 

sockets,  arrangement  of c24 

"  Coupling  "  explained n21 

Court  of  the  Tabernacle  described 12 

as  a  symbol 93,  94 

"  Cover  withal  "  explained 43 

"  Covering"  (of  Tabernacle  and  Ark)  explained. .  n88 

Crimson  described 16 

as  a  symbol 79 

"  Crown  "  (of  tables)  explained 41 

Cubit  as  a  base 75 


Page. 

Cubit,  estimate  of wl2 

,  natural  type  of 75 

rules,  Egyptian 7il3 

"  Cunning  work  "  explained ral6,  66 

"  Curious  "  (girdle)  explained n06 

Curtains  of  court  described 14 

—  roof  and  walls  compared 30.  34,  n3G 

Curtiss  (S.  L),  "  Levitical  Priests  " 5 

D'Aquine  (P.),  "  Du  Tabernacle  " 8 

David's  erection  of  a  Tabernacle 10.  c33 

Day  of  Atonement  as  a  type 94 

Decalogue,  division  of n58 

as  a  symbol 96 

universal 88 

Decimal  division 74 

Delitzscli  (F.)  cited 7i86 

De  Wetle  (W.  K.  L.)  cited m86 

"  Diamond  "  explained m66 

Dishes,  different  kinds  distinguished nl9 

"  Dishes  "  (of  table)  explained 43 

Door-screens  as  a  symbol 93 

way  curtain  of  court  described 16 

Draught  of  the  altar-fire 18 

Drawers  of  High-priest 64 

—Priests 62 

modern  Oriental c62 

Dress  of  High  priest 64,  nil 

—  Levites 60 

Priest 61 

modern  Oriental c61 

Driessen  (A.),  "  Mosis  Tabernaculum." 5 

"  Drink  offering  "  explained »!43 

Duodecimal  division 74 

Duplicate  division 75 

Eden,  a  socket nl3 

Edersheim  (A.)  cited n43,  n66 

"  Edge  "  and  "  selvedge  "  distinguished «31 

Egyptian  Temples 3 

Uri7V. 70 

^El  interpreted 7i28 

Eleventli  roof-curtain,  its  position 28 

Embroidery  of  curtains  in  general 7il  6 

used 33,  36,  51,  66,  G7 

"  Emerald  "  explained m68 

Encampment,  order  of ni9 

Entrance  b}-  raising  curtain 17 

Ej)hod  described 66,  c67 

Egyptian c66 

Er  Raliah,  plain  of 12 

Ewald  (G.  H.  A.)  cited «86 

Ezekiel's  Temple 3 


GENERAL  INDEX. 


99 


Page. 

Faces  of  cherubim w82 

Fat  as  a  symbol, 93 

Fdlah  peasant's  dress c6 1 

Fcrgiisson  (J.),  "  Temples  of  the  Jews  " 7 

—   specially  ciied ?i25,  ?i26 

Fiery  pillar.     (See  Pill.\.h.) 

Figure,  importance  of 81 

"  Fillet,"  a  rod.     (See  Rous  ) 15 

"  Fine  twined  linen,"  meaning  of n\b 

Fingers,  a  natural  number 74 

Fire  maintained  all  night  by  Arabs n\d 

perpetually  on  the  Great  Altar t 1!) 

as  a  symbol «80,  93 

"  Fire  pans  "  (of  altar)  explained n\% 

Flesli  as  a  sj-mbol 93 

"  Flesh  hooks  "  (of  altar)  explained   ?il8 

"  Flower  "  on  Candelabrum 4tj,  cA'i 

Fold  in  roof-curtain c?>\,n'.V2 

Folds  in  side-curtains c-38,  f39 

"Foot  "  (of  laver)  explained ?il8 

"  Forefront  "  explained 7i28 

Form,  importance  of 81 

Four  as  a  symbol 75,  nlQ 

Frankincense,  use  of. 42,  49 

Friederich  (F.),  "  Symbol,  d.  Stifisluitte  " 6 

—    specially  cited w72 

Frontlet  of  hight-pricst 65 

Fur  as  a  sj'mbol 93 

Furniture  as  a  symbol 93 

Fiirst  (J.)  cited «86 

Gable  nearly  covered  by  roof-curtain 7i29,  c30 

GeWa  interpreted 46,  c47 

Geissler  (C),  "  De  Cherubim  " 5 

Gems  in  breastplate 67,  n68 

as  a  sj-mbol 93 

Gernhard(G.  F.),  •'  De  Nono  et  Decinio  Pnecepto  "  7i59 

Gesenius  (F.  H.  W.)  cited ?i86 

Gibeon,  liigh-place  at 10 

Girdle  of  ephod 66 

—  High-priest 63 

—  Levites 61 

—  Priests 63 

modern  Oriental 61,  c63 

Goats'-hair  for  canvas 27 

—  as  a  symbol 93 

Gold  as  a  symbol • 79,  92 

use  of 21,  25,  33,  41,  43,  44,  52,  55, 

56,  58,  65,  66,  67.  68,  69.  79 

Gore  in  corner  of  roof-curtains c31 

Granite  of  Mt.  Sinai «57 

Grate  of  Altar 17 

Gray  as  a  symbol   78 


Pa<re. 

Great  Altar  described 17 

Green  as  a  symbol 79 

Gum  Arabic,  source  of 7i91,  7i92 

"  Habergeon  "  was  a  corselet 65 

Hamm  (J.  ab),  "  De  Ara  Inleriore  " 5 

Head  ( B.  V.)  cited n24 

Head-dress  of  High-priest 64,  c65 

—  Priest 63,  f64 

modern  Oriental 61,  c64 

Helix  ianthina  described 7tl6 

Hendewerk  (C.  L.),  '•  De  Serapliim  " 6 

Hengstenberg  (P].  W.)  cited n86 

Herxheimer  (S.)  cited k86 

Ilipiogram  of  colors rtSO 

High-priest's  dress 64 

High-priest  as  a  type 94 

Hirt  (J.  F.),  "  Primum  Decalogi  Pr;woplnni  ". .  .    7!59 

'•  Hollow  with  boards  "  explained nl  7 

Holy  of  Holies  described 51 

,  its  size 20,  to22 

as  a  symbol 93,  94 

Place  described 20 

as  a  symbol .'  .93,  94 

Homer  cited n92 

Hooks  described 15 

used 15,  33,  52 

•'  Horns  "  of  the  altar 17 

Hufnagel  (W.  F.),  '•  Der  Cherub  " 6 

Incense,  the  sacred 59 

"  Inclosings  "  (of  gems)  explained n67 

Inscriptions,  Assyrian  and  Kgyf)tian r!81 

"  Jasper  "  explained n68 

Jehd  Mu8a,  summit  of 12 

Josepluis  (F.)  cited 3,  nl6,  18.  22.  7/23.  ?i25. 

w45,  7!46,  7i65,  7i66,  7i71 

Kaiser  (T.  P.  C),  "  De  Cherubis  " 6 

Kalisch  (M.)  on  Exodus 5 

—    specially  cited riT.\ 

Kiiphol  interpreted n28,  n30 

Knpporeth  defined h85 

Knphfor  interpreted 46,  c47 

Karknb.  the  rim  of  the  Aluir j/18 

Katheph  interpreted n66 

Katsah  and  saphah  distinguished n31,  7)68 

Keil  (C.  F.)  on  Exodus 5 

specially  cited,  7jlO.  7)22, 7)5!t.  nIO,  7i73.  7;86 

Ken,  the  base  of  the  Laver nl9 

Kepler  (J.)  cited n54 

Keres  interpreted 7i26 


lOO 


GENERAL  INDEX. 


Page. 

Kirjath-jearim,  Ark  at »ilO 

Kitto  (J.),  "  The  Tabernacle  " S 

—    "  Pictorial  Bible  " 5 

Kiyor  interpreted nl  9 

Knobel  (K.  A.)  cited m86 

Knobs,  copper,  form  of. to'25 

.  iieiglit  of 25,  28 

,  number  of. «40 

,  place  of ?i40 

golden,    form  of n25 

^  lieiglit  of w52,  nb'.i 

- — — -  ,  number  of 40 

,  place  of w40 

"  Knops  "  on  Candelabrum 46,  c47 

"  Lace  "  (of  frontlet)  explained m65 

Ladder-rounds  compared w2 1 

Lamps  on  Candelabrum 47,  c48 

Lamy  (B.),  "  De  Tabeniaculo  Foederis" 5 

Lange  (J.  P.)  cited w73,  «86 

Laver  described 19 

,   its  "  foot  " rtl9 

,   —  position 19 

probably  broken  up 10 

— —    replaced  in  Solomon's  Temple 11 

as  a  symbol 93,  94 

Law,  copy  of,  found  by  .Tosiuh 11 

Layard  (A.  H.)  cited n33,  nbl 

Leeser  (L)  cited 9i86 

Legends,  Assyrian  and  Egyptian h81 

Leone  (J.  J.),  "  Del  Area  " 5 

'•  Dc  Chenibinis  " 5 

"  Van  den  Tabernackel  " 8 

Lepsius  (R.)  cited ml  3 

Lid  of  the  A  rk  as  a  symbol ?z84 

Liebentanz  (M.),  "  De  Manna  " w92 

"  Ligure"  explained w68 

Liuen  as  a  symbol 92 

,  bleached  and  unbleached ml 5 

Lion  in  Zoological  Gardens w83 

Literature  of  the  subject. .  .3,  ?il2,  »?58,  n59,  w79,  «92 

"  Looking-glass  "  was  a  metallic  mirror 19 

Loops  on  roof-curtains c29,  n.HO,  nZ\ 

side  curtains c37,  38,  )^^9,  c40 

Lund  (H.),  "  Anliq.  Heb." 5 

—    specially  cited m72 

Machtoth  were  fire-pans m1  8 

Madden  (F.  W.)  cited 7i23 

Makseh  interpreted n26 

Manna  identified «92 

,  pot  of,  preserved  58 

as  a  symbol 92 


Page. 
March,  order  of nb\ 

Mathematical  demonstration..  .n28,  40,  n53,  n54,  n9G 

McLeod  (A.),  "  Clierubim  " G 

Meal  as  a  symbol 93 

"  Meat  ofifering  "  explained m43 

Meil  interpreted n28 

Mel  (G-.),  "  Beschr.  d.  Stiftshiitte  " 5 

Mercy-seat  described 55 

"  Mercy-seat  "  an  incorrect  phrase «85 

MeshuUab  interpreted w21 

Metallic  sheets,  manufactured «45,  «46,  49,  56 

Metallurgy,  Egyptian »il2,  >(91,  n92 

Michaelis  (J.  H.)  cited ji8G 

"  Midst  of  the  altar  "  explained nl  8 

Migne  (abbe)  cited nl'i 

Millemalah  interpreted k26 

Mines  of  Surabet  el  Khadim n91 

Mirrors,  Egyptian nl9 

Mishhetseth  interpreted n67 

Mishkan  and  Ohel  distinguished n9 

"  Mitre  "  was  a  turban,     (See  Turban.) 64 

Mizpeh,  Tabernacle  at 10 

Moses's  tent  the  first  Tabernacle 9 

Moshzar  interpreted nl  5 

Murphy  (C.  F.)  on  Exodus 5 

Names  of  tribes,  order  of n%1, 7z68 

Natural  types 13,  9i21,  n'lb,  c47,     74 

"  Network  "  (of  altar)  explained nl7 

Neumann  (W.),  "  Die  Stiftshiitte  " 6 

Nob,  Show-bread  at 10 

Octagonal  tent w33 

"  Of  the  same  "  explained 17,  56 

Ohd  and  Mishkan  distinguished n9 

Oil  for  candelabrum 47 

— ,  lioly,  of  unction 60 

—  as  a  symbol 93 

One  as  a  symbol 75 

"  Odj'x  "  explained «6S 

Order,  importance  of n76 

"  Ouch  "  explained «67 

Pailloux  (X,),  "  Monographic  du  Temple  " 5 

Paine  (T,  0,).  ' '  The  Tabernacle,"  etc T 

specially  cited,  n3,  w7,  m14,  w15,  nl7, 

7U8,  23,  7i25,  »i26,  n28,  n30,  n'i2,  n49 

Palmer  (E.  H.)  cited n27 

"  Pans  "  (of  altar)  explained 7!l 6 

Peak-roof  necessary 26 

PtracU  interpreted 40,  c4  7 

Peringer  (G.),  "  Historia  Tabernaculi  " ;"> 

Philo  Judasus  cited w42,  /i7  1 


GENERAL   INDEX. 


lOl 


Page. 

Picture-lessons 73,  n7  4,  ?z80 

Pillar  of  Cloud  in  general w86 

,  its  appearance nlO 

,  the  signal  for  marching 10 

and  fire  as  a  symbol 95 

Pillars  of  Court  described IH,  cl4 

,  their  distribution wl4 

,  their  face nl6 

Pins.     Sec  Tent-Pins. 

"  Pitch  "  for  the  ark 88 

Poole  (R.  T.)  cited n24 

Pomegranates  on  higli-priest's  robe 65 

Poppe  (J.),  "  Die  Stiftshiitte  " 8 

Pot  of  manna  in  Arl< 58 

Praj'er-book  cited 87 

Priestly  dress 62 

Propitiatorium  discussed ^85 

Proportion,  importance  of ri74, 7i76 

"  Pulpit  Commentary  "  cited n73 

Purple  as  a  symbol 79 

,  a  Tyrian  dye 16 

Quadrangle  as  a  symbol 

Quadruple  division 75 

Rain  at  Sinai nil 

Rams'-skins,  where  placed 26 

as  a  symbol 93 

Randall  (D.  A.),  "  Ham-Mishkan  " 8 

specially  cited n72 

/?(«  Su/safth,  summit  of 12 

Rau  (S.),  "  Nubes  super  Area  " 6 

Bebus  of  colors «80 

Recchiti  (J.); "  Ham-Mislikan  " 8 

Rectangle  as  a  symbol 81 

Relaud  (A.),  "De  Spoliis  Templi" 4 

specially  cited c  41,  45,  c45,  48 

Revelation  foreshadowed 94 

Rhind  (W.  G.)  "Tabern.  in  the  Wilderness  " 6 

Ridgavvay  (H.  B)  cited 7i27 

Ridge  pole  or  rope  unnecessary 32 

Riggenbach  (C.  J.),  "  Die  Stiftshiitte  " 0 

Rings  for  bars  of  walls 25 

—  grate  of  altar 17 

use  of 17,  25,  41,  nU.  55 

Robe  of  high-priest  described 65 

Rod  of  Aaron,  miraculous 58 

Rods  of  court  described 15 

,  none  for  the  Vail 52 

,  use  of 15,  33,  52 

Roof  of  Tabernacle  not  flat 26 

Roof-curtains  as  made  up c29 

Rope  as  a  symbol.     (See  Stay-CORDS) 73 


Page. 

Rosenmiiller  (J.  G.)  cited nSG 

Rotundity  as  a  symbol 81 

Rounds  of  a  ladder  compared n21 

Rugs  of  fur  under  the  furniture nl8 

Saalschutz  (J.  L.),  "  Hei).  Archiiol." 5 

"  Sacred  "  numbers w74 

Salt,  use  of n42 

as  a  symbol 93 

Sanctuary  described 19 

,    its  dimensions ii22 

Sandals  not  worn  by  priests 60 

Saphali  and  Katsah  distinguished n31,  »(68 

"  Sapphire  "  explained  «68 

"  Sardius  "  explained rj68 

"  Scarlet,"  a  crimson 16 

— ■  as  a  symbol 79 

Schlichter  (C.  L.),  "De  Lychnucho  " 6 

,  "  De  Mensa  Facierum  " 6 

- ,  '-DeSuffitu" 6 

Schmuck  (Y.),  '•  De  Decalogi  Distributione  " 7i59 

Scholt  (W.)  cited m86 

Schulteus  (A.),  "  Mysterium  Tabernaculi." 5 

Scott  (Sir  W.),  hymn  cited nS6 

Sea-shells  the  source  of  purples 93 

"  Selvedge  "  explained nS  1 

Sennert  (A.),  "  De  iis  qure  fuerunt  in  Area  ". . . .  n58 

Senses,  symbols  adapted  to m77 

Septenarj'  division 74 

"Set  in  order"  (of  tenons)  explained n2\ 

"  Settings  "  (of  stones)  explained n67 

Seven  as  a  symbol 74,  7i76 

Sex  as  a  natural  number 75 

Seyal  described n2 1 

SJiani,  the  crimson  grub nl6 

Sharpe  (S.)  cited n86 

Shekel  determined «23 

"  Shekinah  "  explained n95 

as  a  symbol 84,  95 

Shesh,  bleaclied  linen «15 

Shiloh,  Tabernacle  at 10 

Shirt  of  High-priest 64 

Levites 60 

■  —  Priests 63 

modern  Oriental 60,  c62 

Shiltah  and  Shittim  distinguished 13,  n9\ 

identified.     (See  Acaci.4.) 13,  17,  21,  n91 

Shoham  interpreted n66 

Shoulder-stud  of  ephod 66 

"  Shovels  "  (of  altar)  explained 18 

Show-bread  described 42 

at  Nob 10 

as  a  svmbol 93 


102 


GENERAL   INDEX. 


Page. 

Shrubs  burned  by  monks  of  Sinai nlT) 

"  Side  "  (of  ephod  or  tablet)  explained n68 

Side-curtains,  their  length 36 

Silk  an  alternate  for  gold 93 

Silver,  use  of 15,  23,  52 

as  a  symbol 92 

trumpets  described c41,  48 

Simpson  (F.  G.),  "  Lectures  on  the  Taberuitcle  ". .        6 
Sinai  an  Egyptian  penal  station n91 

Mt.,  described 12 

Sixth  roof-curtain,  its  position 28 

Skins,  use  of ; 18,  26,  nbX 

as  a  symbol 93 

of  walls  carried  up  above  the  eaves ?j32 

Smith  (G.),  "  Doctrine  of  Cherubim  " 6 

"  Snuff  dishes  "  explained 47 

"  Socket  "  explained wl3 

Sockets  described 13,  23 

,  their  dimensions n2'i 

Solomon's  Temple 3 

Soltau  (H.  W.),  "  The  Tabernacle,"  etc 7 

"Span"  explained ?il3 

Spice  as  a  symbol 93 

Spices  used 59 

"  Spoil  "  of  the  Egyptians  by  Israelites n90 

"  Spoons  "  (of  table)  explained 43 

Square  as  a  symbol n81 

Stay-ropes  necessary 14,  15,  25,  34 

Staves.     See  Bars. 

Stephens  ("W.  E.),  "  Christ  in  the  Tabernacle  "...       8 

Stiebretz  (J.  F.),  "  De  Urim  " 6 

Stillmann  (G.),  "  De  Candelabro  " 5 

Stone  of  the  Table  of  Law n57,  7i59 

—  Decalogue  symbolical n84,  90 

Stones  on  high-priest's  dress 66,  67,  w68 

Stories  in  Noah's  ark n88 

Stripes  of  curtains  in  general nl  6 

Stromeyer  (J.  J.),  "  Harmonia  Decalogi  " «59 

Symbolism,  schemes  ot n1\ 

"  Tabernacle  of  the  Congregation  "  explained.  . .  9 

,  Ante-Sinaitic 9 

,  Davidic 10 

Table  of  Show-bread  described 41 

as  a  symbol 93,  94 

Tables  of  the  Law  described 57 

,  their  material «57 

,  weight w58 

,  size 7i58 

,  division n58 

Tachash  interpreted «26 

identified n78 

skins  as  a  symbol 93 


Page. 

"  Tache  "  was  a  knob.     (See  Knobs.) 7i2o 

Tebah  interpreted n86 

Ttkeleth  a  shell-fish nl 6 

Temple  of  Solomon  built  10 

Ten  as  a  symbol 74 

Tenons  in  planks,  their  position n2I 

"  Tent "  and  "  Tabernacle  "  distinguishtrd »i9 

,  Oriental,  described c27, 7i32 

pins  used N ,  25,  33,  34 

"  Tenth  deal "  explained 42 

Teraphim,  Hebrew 70 

Thalemann  (C.  W.),  "  De  Nube  "  .    6 

Tholuck  (F.  A.  S.)  cited n86 

Thorny  bush  as  a  symbol 91 

Three  as  a  symbol 75, 7276 

Thummim  interpreted ?i69 

Thy m  (G.),  "  Labrum  Aeneum  " 5 

Tolaath  an  insect n\G 

"  Tongs  "  explained 48 

"  Topaz  ■'  explained w68 

Transportation  of  Tabernacle 49 

Travel  across  Sinaiiic  peninsula n91 

Triangle  as  a  symbol w8 1 

Tribes,  order  of n67,  nGS 

Triple  division 75 

Tristram  (H.B.)  cited nd\ 

Trumbull  (H.  C.)  cited n79 

Trumpets,  silver,  described c41.  48 

,  as  a  symbol 92 


Turban,  Oriental 61,  c65 

"Twined  "  explained n31 

Twelve  as  a  symbol 74,  7i76 

Two  as  a  symbol 75 

Two-fold  covering 34 

Tympe  (J.  G.),  "Tabernaculi  Descriptio  " 5 

Types  in  nature  of  various  articles .  13,  c2 1 ,  c25,  c47,  74 

Unit)'  as  a  division 75 

Urim  interpreted 09 

explained 69 

.  form  of 7i70,  »i83 

,  manipulation  of nlO 

as  a  symbol nS:',,  95 

Vail,  inner,  described 51 

, ,  its  position 52 

as  a  symbol «32,  c33 

type 94 

Van  Til  (S.),  "  De  Tabernaculo  Mosis '' 5 

V(iv,  a  hook.     (See  TIooks.) m1  5 

Velthusen  (J.  K.),  "  Von  d.  Chernbineu  " 6 

Vessels  of  the  Great  Altar 18 

Show-bread  table 43 


GENERAL  INDEX. 


103 


Page. 

Vessels  carried  to  Babylon 11 

restored  to  Jerusalem 11 

Violet  described 16 

as  a  symbol 78 

"Wagons  for  transportation 49 

Walther  (C),  "  De  Tabulis  Lapideis '" m59 

Wangermann  (T.),  "  Die  Stiftsliiitte  " 8 

Warp  always  of  linen nl  6 

Washing  of  hands,  Oriental nl9 

Water  as  a  symbol 93 

Week  as  a  natural  number 74 

Weimar  (D.),  "  De  Suffitu  " 5 

Werner  (J.  B.),  "  De  Propitiatorio  " 5 

Wheels  of  cherubim 82 

Wiiiston  (W.)  cited ?4l6,  n65 

White  as  a  s3'mbol .*  77 

Wilkinson  (Sir  J.  G.)  cited nl2,  nl9,  «42, 

w47,  n57,  60,  n70,  w90 

"  Window  "  in  Noah's  ark 88 

Wings  Bot  on  angels ?!83 


Page. 

Wings  of  cherubim 84 

Wine  not  to  be  drunk  ^43 

as  a  symbol 93 

Witsius  (H.)  cited n12 

Wolf  (C.  G.  F.),  "  De  Urim  " 6 

Wolfrum  (V.  W.),  "  De  Decalogi  Distributione  ". .  n59 

Wood  as  a  symbol 91^  92 

Wooden  Walls cl9,  c36 

Woof  of  colored  wool 71I6 

Wool  used  for  colored  woof nl6 

as  a  symbol 93 

"  Worm  "  the  source  of  crimson 93 

"  Wreathen  chains"  exphiined 67,  c69 

Yellow  as  a  symbol 79,  nSl 

Yether,  a  tent-cord.     (See  Rope.) , nli 

Ziegra  (G.  D.),  "De  Oleo  Sacro  " 5 

Zion,  Mt,  Tabernacle  on 10 

Zunz  (L.)  cited n86 


Passages  of  Scripture  Illustrated, 


GENESIS. 

Page 

iii,  21 w63 

iii,  24 w55,  n84 

vi,    16 38,  nSS 

vii,  16 n88 

vii,  20 n26 

viii,  5 88 

viii,  6 88 

viii.  11 88 

viii,   13 ra26,  88 

ix.  4-6 79 

ix.  12-16 ml6 

ix,   13 w80 

XX,  5,  6 n69 

xxviii,  12 w80 

xxxvii,  o to63 

xxxvii.  25 m91 

xlv,  19-27 w49 

EXODUS. 

ii,  35 n81 

iii,   1 mOl 

iii,  2 w91 

iii,  5 60,  92 

iii,  12 ??10 

iii,  22 w50 

xi,  2 n50 

xii-xix n5l 

xii,  33-36 n51 

xii.  35,  36 n90 

xiii.  17 n91 

xiv,  19,  20,  24 95 

xiv,  20 mlO,  n86 

xvi,   15 92 

xvi,  33,  34 58 

jcix,  9,  16-20 95 

XX,  2-27 9*58 

jcx,  18-21   95 

XX,  24 7118 

XX,  24.  25 17 

xxiv,  15-18 95 

XXV,  4 7i\Q 

XXV,  9,  40 n37 

XXV,  10-22 55 

XXV,  11,  12 n57 

XXV,  19 >/52.  56 

XXV,  20 57,  85 

XXV,  20,  24 41 

XXV,  25 41 

XXV,  27 n85 

XXV,  30 42 

XXV,  31-40 44 

-xxv,  35 «46,  n52 

XXV,  40 3 


Page 

xxvi-xxviii 3 

xxvi,  1 36,  w78 

xxvi,    1-6 34 

xxvi,  1,  6 7i36 

xxvi,  3 n28 

xxvi,  3,  9 w34 

xxvi,  7 w26 

xxvi,  4,  5.  .w30,  7i'd\,  «35 

xxvi,  5 w34 

xxvi,  6 n34,     40 

xxvi,  6-11 ?i28,     35 

xxvi,  7 w36 

xxvi,  9 28,  n28 

xxvi,  10 ?i28,  30,  w31 

xxvi,   11 31,  ?t36 

xxvi.  11,  13 25 

xxvi,  12 n28,  31,  w31 

xxvi,  13 w28,  «36 

xxvi,  14 ?i36,  n88 

xxvi.    15 21 

xxvi,   IG 21 

xxvi.  18.  20 21 

xxvi,   19 23 

xxvi,  19,    21,  25 24 

xxvi,   22 21 

xxvi,   24 23 

xxvi,   25 21 

xxvi,  26-29 25 

xxvi,  26,  27 42 

xxvi,  27 w25 

xxvi,  29 n2o 

xxvi,  30 w37 

xxvi,  31-33 51 

xxvi,  32 24 

xxvi,  33 52 

xxvi.  36 33 

xxvii,  1,  8 17 

xivii,  2 17 

xxvii,  3 18,     47 

xxvii,  4 17 

xxvii,  5 18 

xxvii,  6,  7 18 

xxvii,  8 h]7 

xxvii,  9-16 nl4 

xxvii,  10-18 nl3 

xxvii,  10-12 14 

xxvii,  10 ?!.'!5 

xxvii,  10,  12,  17 15 

xxvii,   12,  13 j(14 

xxvii,  13,  14 ?il4 

xxvii,   14,  15 15 

xxvii,  16...  nI4,  16,  n78 

xxvii,  18 13 

xxvii,  19 14 


Page 

xxvii,  20 47 

xxvii,  25-28 44 

xxviii 60 

xxviii,  4 7i64 

xxviii,  5 w78 

xxviii,  8 n78 

xxviii,  15 w78 

xxviii,  20 7i64 

xxviii,  22-28 n68 

xxviii,  24 n64 

xxviii,  30 «69 

xxviii,  31,  32 ?i65 

xxviii,  33 n78 

xxviii,  39 m64 

xxviii,  40-43 62,   k64 

xxviii,  42 «64 

xxix,  8,  9 62 

XXX,  1-5 44 

XXX,  4 n52 

XXX,  6 44 

XXX,   7-10 44 

XXX,  7 47 

XXX,  8 47 

XXX,  18 19 

XXX,  19-21 19 

XXX,  19,  21 19 

XXX,  25 w60 

XXX,  34-36 60 

XXXV,  35 w78 

xxxi,  26 9 

xxxi,  18 57 

xxxiii,  7 9 

xxxiii,  9,  10 95 

xxxiii,  18-23 86 

xxxiv,  5-8 86 

xxxiv,  5 95 

xxxiv,  29 57 

xxxv-xl 3 

XXXV,  6-23 nl8 

XXXV,  18 14 

xxxvi,  8 36,  n18 

XXX vi,  8-19 n36 

xxxvi,  8-18 w30 

xxxvi,  8-13 «34 

xxxvi,  10,  18 n34 

xxxvi,  12 7i34 

xxxvi,  13 w34 

xxxvi,  22 n21 

xxxvi,  35,  36 51 

xxxvi,  38 Til 5 

xxxvii,  1-9 55 

xxxvii,  10,  11 41 

xxxvii,  17-24 44 

xxxvii,  21 n46 


Page 

xxxviii,  5-7 18 

xxxviii,  7 wl7 

xxxviii,  8 19 

xxxviii,  9-19 ?il4 

xxxviii,  12,  13 k14 

xxxviii,  14,  15 nl4 

xxxviii,  17,  19 15 

xxxviii,  18 n28,  n78 

xxxviii,  18-10 ?zl4 

xxxviii,  27 23,  n78 

xxxix,  2,  3 n78 

xxxix,  5 7i70 

xxxix,  6 n67 

xxxix,  8 »i78 

xxxix,  13 6(i,  7i61 

xxxix,  24 n78 

xxxix,  27-29 «64 

xxxix,  29 nl8 

xxxix,  33 «49 

xl,  3 44 

xl,   17 9 

xl,   19 26,  h36 

xl,  22 41 

xl,   24 •.  ..      44 

xl,  29 n\9 

xl,  34-38 95 

LEVITICUS. 

viii,  3,  4 

viii,  8 7i69 

X,  9 «43 

xi,  9-12 n78 

xvi,  4 n64 

xvi.  4.  23 m76 

xvi;  11,  12 60 

xvi,  12 48 

xvi,  14,  15 «76 

xvi,   18 44.  «76 

xvi,  23 n33 

xix,  19 n35 

xxiv,  2 n42 

xxiv,  5-9 42 

xxiv.  7 42,  43 

NUMBERS. 

ii,  iv,  vii n50 

iv,  32   w49 

iv,  7 h43 

vii,  3-8 n49 

vii,  13 43 

vii,  14 43 

viii,  4 n37 

X,  2-10 48 

xi,  8 n20 


PASSAGES   OF  SCRIPTURE  ILLUSTRATED. 


108 


Page 

XVI,  38,  39 nI8 

xvii,  10 58 

xxvii,  21 n.69 

xxxii,  38 ft67 

xxxiii nz>\ 

DEUTERONOMY. 

iii,  11 «75 

V,  6-21 n58 

ix.  7-24 90 

ix,  10 57 

X.  1,  2 n87 

X,  5 57 

xiv,  9,  10 w78 

xvii,  6 n84 

xxii,  11 »i35 

xxxi,  16-27 90 

xxxi,   26 57 

xxxii,  11 57 

xxxiii,  8 n69 

JOSHUA. 

xviii,  1 10 

JUDGES. 

vi,  19 n20 

xiii,  20 W83 

xiv,   19 '/i63 

I  SAMUEL. 

ii,  14 ?j20 

iii,  3 47 

iv,  3 11 

iv,  4 10 

iv,  21 95 

vi mIO 

vii,  1 wlO 

vii^  2 wlO 

vii,  6 10,  «10 

ix,  12 10 

ix,  14 mIO 

X.  3 10 

xiv,  3 h70 

xiv,  19 nlQ 

XX,  6 10 

xxi,    1-6 10,  «42 

xxi,  6 42 

xxi,  7,  9 10 

xxii.  11 10 

xxii.  18 7i70 

xxiii,  2,  4 ?i70 

xxiii,  2,  4,  6 ?i70 

xxiii,  6 //70 

xxiii.  9-12 n~Q 

xxviii,  6 «69,  n70 

3  SAMUEL. 

V,  19,  23 w70 

V,  23,  24 n70 

vi wlO 

vi,  6,  7 n55 

vi,  17   10 

vi,  19 n42 


Page 

vii,  2 10 

xiii,  18 n63 

XV,  11 n69 

XV,  24-29 nlO 

xxi,   1 w70 

xxii,  II /t55 

I  KINGS. 

iii,  4 10 

vi 3 

vi,  8 m30 

vi,  22 44 

vi,  23-29 n55 

vi,  23,  24 n52 

vi,  35 56 

vii,  23 ral5 

vii,  23,  27 11 

vii,  28-36 «41 

vii,  28,  29 n21 

vii,  30-43 ri20 

vii,  48 10 

vii,  49 10 

viii,  8 55 

viii,  9 58 

viii,  11 n85 

viii,  12 75 

ix,  4 7i69 

xxii,  34 n67 

3  KINGS. 

vi,  17 w83 

viii,    15 ral7 

X,  7 n20 

xii,  9,  10 n55 

xii,  18 11 

xvi,  17 ii-lO,  nA\ 

xviii,  16 . .  11 

xxii,  8 58 

xxiv,   13 11 

1  CHRONICLES. 

ix,  32 42 

xiii-xvi wlO 

xvi,   1 10 

xvi,   29 to61 

xvi,   39 10 

xvii,   1 10 

xxi,   29 10 

xxviii,  11 n85 

xxviii,  11,  12,  19 3 

xxviii,  17 7i43 

3  CHRONICLES. 

i,  3-6 10 

ii,  7,  14 7i78 

iii,  iv 3 

iii,  10-13 n55 

iii,  13 57 

iv,  6,  14 7i20 

V,  5 10 

vi,  13 «20 

xviii,  33 n69 


Page 

XX,   21 n61 

XXV,  24 11 

xxviii,  24 11 

ixix,  18 11 

xxxiv,  15 11 

xxxvi,  7 11 

EZRA. 

i,  7-11 11 

ii,  63 »69,  n70 

V,  14.  15 11 

vii,   19 11 

viii,  33 11 

NEHEMIAH. 
vii,  65 n69 


ESTHER. 


i,  6. 


«15 


JOB. 

iv,   6 w69 

xxi,  23 7i69 

xxiii,  8,  9 to82 

xxviii.  6 «13 

xxix,   14 w64 

xii,  20 h20 

PSALMS. 


vii,  8 n69 

xix,  1-4 n80 

XXV.  21 «69 

xxvi,  1,  11 «69 

xxix,  2 n61 

xii,  12 n69 

xiv,  13 m67 

Ixviii,  8 n86 

Ixxvii,  17 n86 

Ixxviii,  72 ri69 

Ixxxi.  6 n20 

Ixxxv,  10 m84 

ci,  2 n69 

civ,  6 n83 

cxxxii wlO 

cxxxii,  6 10 


ISAIAH. 

Page 

iii,  23 n64 

vi «55 

vi,  2 n83 

vi,  2-7 w57 

xxii,  18 n64 

xxii,  21 n63 

xxiv,  15 n69 

xxxi,  9 n69 

xliv.  14 n69 

xlvii,  9 n69 

1.  1 1 n69 

Ixii,  3 n64 

JEREMIAH. 

x,  5 n44 

xvii,  1 90 

xxiv,  2 w20 

xxxi,  33 n86 

xxxi,  33 90 

Hi,  18,  19 II 

Iii,  21 nl7 


EZEKIEL. 


i,  5-14.. 

i,  7 

i,  9,  11., 
i,  10.... 
i,  15..., 
i,  23.  24 


n56 
n56 

84 
n55 
n55 

84 


i,  24,  25 84 

i,  26 n55 

V,  2 n69 

ix,  33 «55 

X n56 

X,  1,  4 w55 

X,  9 n55 

X,  14 n56 

X.  23 w56 

xvi.  31 n78 

xxi,  26 n64 

xxxiii,  3 92 

xl-xlii 3 

xl n55 

xl,  6 wl3 

xii.  18 n55 

xii,  24 n67 


PROVERBS.  I 

V,  2.  3 

i',  7 «69    ix,  21 

iii,  3 90  I 

vii,  3 90 

viii.  15,  16 n84    \\\  3 

X,  9,  29 n69 

xiii,  6 n69 

xix,  1 7i69 

XX,  7 n69 


DANIEL. 


MICAH. 


xxviii,  6 n69 


CANTICLES. 


i,  5. 

V,  11-15. 


27 
«63 


11 

n83 


n20' 


ZECHARIAH. 

iii,  5   n64 

vi,  1-8 n82 


xii,  6 "20. 


MATTHEW. 


i,  17. 

v,  17,  18. 


V,  15 nl3,  nl5    v,  21,  22,  28 


n\i 

n85 

90 


106 


PASSAGES    OF  SCRIPTURE  ILLUSTRATED. 


Page 

xvi,   13 w82 

xvii,  4 73 

xxii,    1] ?i60 

xxvii,  51 94 

xxviii,  3 n83 

LUKE. 

xxiii,  34 7186 

JOHN. 

i,  5.  9 n83 

i.  U 73 

i,  IS 75,  n83 

vi.  31-85 92 

viii.  12 7i83 

xi.  51 nIO 

xvi,   7 n84 

xix,   23 «65 

ACTS, 

ii,  33 m84 


ROMANS. 

Page 

iii,  25 ra85 

vii.  7-13 90 

1  CORINTHIANS. 

X,  2 »86 

xiv,  8 92 

2  CORINTHIANS. 

iii,  3,  7 w84,     90 

GALATIANS. 
iv,  6 /i84 

COLOSSIANS. 
i,  26,  27 ?j80 

I  TIMOTHY. 
vi,  16 75 


Page 
HEBREWS. 

i,  3 75 

ii,  17 «85 

iv,  12 90 

viii,   10 911 

ix,  4 44,  58 

ix,  5 nS5 

ix,  11,  12,  24 94 

ix,  22 79 

X,  12 n84 

X.  16 90 

X.  1 9 94 

X.  20 94 

xii,  24 /t34 

JAMES. 

ii,  13 ;,84 

1  PETER. 

ii,  5,  9 94 

2  PETER. 

i,  13,  14 73 


ii,  5 87 

Iii,  6 87 

I  JOHN. 

i,  5 75 

ii,  2 n85 

iv,  10 n85 

REVELATION. 

i,  6 94 

iv,  6-9 55  m,  k83 

iv,   6,  8 82 

iv,  7,  8 7i57 

v,  1 >i85 

v,   9,  10    ?i80 

viii,  6 92 

viii,  13 ra83 

xii,  14 ?i83 

xiii ?t56 

xiv,  6 /,!s:!.  92 

xix.  8 94 

xxi,    16 ?285 

xxi,   17 ?il3 


PRAISE-YE    JAH! 


RETURN  TO  the  Circulation  cesk  Of  a^;; 
University  of  California  Library 

^,^„  °'"  to  'he 

University  Of  California    ^""°" 
Richmond,  CA  94804-4698 

'-year  loans  n,ay  be  recharged  by  bringing  books 
'"^reVr^-    ™^    ''^    "'-e    4    days 


DUE  AS  STAMPED  BELOW 


VD  48724 


